Bijou Community School taking steps to become 100% two-way immersion

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It's been twelve years since Bijou Community School in South Lake Tahoe started offering two-way immersion classes where students become bilingual and learn Spanish and English in their daily work.

The program has become so popular that English-only class enrollment is dropping, forcing the school to become creative in the planning of the incoming kindergarten classes. In 2014-15 there were five kindergarten classes at Bijou, three TWI and two English. In the 2016-17 year, they started seeing a decline as the two English kindergarten classes only had 16 and 17 students respectively while TWI classes were at full capacity at 22-23 each.

This year they struggled to get 15 students in one class.

Starting in the school year 2019/20 there will be no more English only kindergarten classes. Those who live in the Bijou neighborhood who are not interested in TWI, or if the TWI classes are full, free school bus transportation will take them to Sierra House Elementary, Tahoe Valley Elementary or Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School.

Bijou isn't the only school to see lower kindergarten enrollment numbers. Both Sierra House and Tahoe Valley have experienced a small drop so the extra students coming from the Bijou neighborhood will help with their counts as well.

Bijou will continue with English-only 1st-5th-grade classes until those students move up and onward to South Tahoe Middle School (for example, in 2020/21 there will only be 2nd-5th-grade, 21/22 3rd-5th and so on).

With only one class of English mainstreamed in each grade level there is no opportunity for balance and flexibility to transfer students between classes should their ability and/or behavior require a different learning level. All students stay in one class.

"Lack of flexibility is bad," said Bijou Principal Cindy Martinez. Another side effect of having English only mixed with TWI is the lack of a theme for the students. Sierra House is sports and recreation-themed, LTESMS is science-based, Tahoe Valley is performing arts themed and Bijou is TWI themed. Choosing a new school can better fit their needs.

Martinez has been visiting with parents at local preschools and transitional kindergarten classes to advise them of the change. She's been advising families to visit the schools in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District to see what best fits their needs.

And decisions need to be made quickly. Both the TWI and LTESMS kindergarten classes are lottery based and they can only accept the number of available seats. Deadline is Friday, March 22 for lottery applications with selections on March 28 while the other school enrollments are open until May 10.

"We will support our families in transition," said Martinez of the upcoming changes.

Also being supported are the teachers who will also face changes. As the English mainstream classes are phased out, some may have to change grade levels or switch schools. The exact number of teachers who may have to change will be known more each year as some retire or move from the district.

It is always possible that enrollment numbers will change in the future.

"This is the best decision for all," said Martinez.

With a bit more room at Bijou, which is the largest elementary school in the district, they have been able to add a science room with a robotics curriculum and a garden with more science involved. The school will continue with 16 parent committees and a Cafecitos parent's club.

"Everything else will stay the same," added Martinez.

The first group of students who started the two-way immersion classes at Bijou as kindergartners will graduate from South Tahoe High School in 2020.