Provo school officials debate future of dual-language programming, prompting concern from some

PROVO — Provo school officials are debating the future of the district's dual-language immersion program, which helps students learn a range of languages, including Spanish, Mandarin and French.

Complete elimination of the program doesn't seem to be in the offing, but change of some sort appears likely, and some students in the program are worried about the possibilities. Dual-language classes typically offer instruction to students in English for half the day and the targeted foreign language for the other half of the day.

"The district is exploring different ways to structure and sustain DLI programs, but no specific model has been selected," Caleb Price, the Provo School District director of communications, said. "Options discussed include maintaining DLI programs within neighborhood schools, establishing one or more DLI magnet schools and expanding opportunities for Spanish dual-language immersion in schools with larger populations of native Spanish speakers."

As is, five Provo elementary schools operate dual-language programs in four languages. Canyon Crest and Timpanogos offer Spanish, Edgemont offers French, Lakeview offers Portuguese and Wasatch offers Mandarin.

A committee formed to look into the issue is "examining the number of languages offered," among other things, according to Price, suggesting elimination of one or more of the language offerings could be a possibility. At the same time, he said the Provo Board of Education "is not looking to entirely eliminate the DLI program."

Moving to a magnet school system could entail focusing dual-language programming at a smaller number of elementary schools or just one.

The talk about the DLI program, focus of discussion at Provo Board of Education meetings on Sept. 8 and 25, is one prong of broader discussion about overall operations in the school district. School officials are also looking into "enrollment trends, school boundaries, facility utilization, educational opportunities and the responsible use of district resources," Price said.

Whatever the case, the DLI discussion has prompted particular concern among some students, like Kate Strong, who went through dual-language programming and say it was a valuable experience. Strong went through the dual-language Mandarin program at Wasatch and still studies the language as a senior at Timpview High School in Provo.

"I'm able to draw from so many more ideas. I'm not just drawing from my Utah perspective now," she said. "I'm also drawing from Chinese philosophers and history, and it's just definitely opened my eyes."

Jasmina George, another Timpview student who went through the Mandarin dual-language program and still studies the language, said the program teaches students new skills and challenges them. Changing the program now "would be unfair to those who are younger because they would be cut off from the opportunities that being in the DLI program brings," she said.

Strong said friends of hers went through the Spanish and French dual-language programs and have had similarly positive experiences. "The fact that students in Provo can have the opportunity to challenge themselves to learn a new language and be exposed to a new culture is one of the reasons our community is so special," she said.

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A special committee made of parents, district staff and others is looking into the future of the dual-language offerings as well as the boundaries of the district's varied schools. Moreover, district officials plan to conduct a survey to get feedback from district families and will also tap community focus groups to get more input. A decision by the school board on the future structure of the dual-language program could potentially come by December or January.

Some of the debate has focused on class size in dual-language programming, assuring equitable access to educational opportunities and distribution of resources to DLI and non-DLI classrooms. The Spanish-language offering, in particular, seems to have mustered positive feedback.

"There has been particular discussion about the value of Spanish immersion, including opportunities for native English and Spanish speakers to learn alongside one another," Price said.

In the 2024-25 school year, 344 Utah elementary, middle or high schools offered dual language programming — 172 of them in Spanish and 99 in Chinese. Utah schools also offer dual-language immersion programs in French, Portuguese, German and Russian.

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