The Santa Maria-Bonita School District is moving forward with a plan to bring bilingual education to its students. The dual immersion program was approved by the superintendent and district board Thursday night.
The program will be set at the new elementary school, which is scheduled to open this August.
District Spokesperson Maggie White says the board chose not to initiate a program start date yet, but says it could go into effect as soon as the start of the next school year.
"There's a lot of people that want sooner rather than later, but we also want to make sure that everything is done correctly so that this program has the best chance for success from the very, very beginning," said White
A task force will look into all the possibilities for implementing the program. Dual immersion systems at Hapgood School in Lompoc and Pacheco School in San Luis Obispo have been looked at as models. The district also went outside the immediate area for examples, including bringing in an expert from a well-known dual immersion school in Napa.