In January, the Walnut Valley Unified School District tested out plans for a dual language immersion program with around 40 pre-kindergarten students.

On Monday, the program went from test mode to official with the class of kindergarteners slated to be studied as a group through fifth grade enjoying their first day of school.

“That was to give them a taste of what dual immersion would be like,” said English Language Development Specialist Jenny Kwan-Hata of the pre-K class.  “This is the first official cohort.”

The program, which the district has dubbed “Global Connections – Creating 21^st Century Biliterate/Bicultural Children,” has been funded with a $1.2 million, five-year federal Foreign Language Acquisition Program grant. 

The goal is to get the 48 kindergartens literate in both Mandarin and English by the fifth grade.  The district was one of only eight to receive a grant for a Mandarin immersion program in the country. 

The Center for Applied Linguistics, which tracks dual-language programs, lists only four others similar to Walnut Unified’s in the state, two in Northern California, one in Venice and one at Wedgeworth Elementary School in Hacienda Heights.

Students in the program, which is housed at Walnut Elementary School, get 50/50 instruction in Mandarin and English.  They also get a full day, as the program is the only kindergarten class that goes until 2:40 p.m. in the district, Kwan-Hata said.

Many of the students know the language, but they don’t speak it at home, she said.  The district also plans to provide some online support for parents who don’t speak Mandarin so that they can help their children with their schoolwork, she said. 

The program also is heavy on technology, with each student getting his or her own Netbook, she said.

“A lot of our parents are really forward thinking,” she said.  “They are looking down the road at what the occupations in the future are going to be.  The parents are really taking a risk because it’s a new program for the district, but they see the value.”

The program is full for this year and has a small waiting list, she said. The district also has 22 names on the interest list for next year.

Walnut Valley Unified Board President Cindy Ruiz said in January of the launch of the pre-kindergarten program that the aim is to foster academic success early.

“Statistics have shown that the first seven years of a child's life is their foundation," Ruiz said.  "They are like sponges."

Kwan-Hata echoed this sentiment, adding that studies have proven the cognitive benefits of being bilingual and biliterate.  Loyola Marymount University will be evaluating the program, studying data provided as the students advance.

“When they are called as a cohort at the high school graduation, it is going to just be amazing,” she said.