The Georgia Department of Education World Languages in collaboration with the Georgia Foundation for Public Education offers competitive grants to support Dual Language Immersion Programs in Georgia. This year, two Savannah-Chatham Elementary Schools – Haven and Windsor Forest – were awarded grants of $1,000 each to support their Dual Language Immersion programs in the next school year.
Dual Language Immersion is a way to learn academic content while acquiring another language at the same time. Haven Elementary offers students a Dual Language Immersion Program in Chinese. Windsor Forest Elementary offers a Dual Language Immersion Program in Spanish. Dual Language Immersion programs have been shown to offer multiple benefits including Language Skills, Improved Performance on Standardized Tests, Enhanced Cognitive Skills, and Increased Cultural Sensitivity.
In Georgia dual language programs, the students spend at least half of their school day in the target language and the other half-day in English. Immersion students are taught Math, Science, Literacy and sometimes Social Studies in the target language. They are taught English Language Arts, Reading, and usually Specials in English.
