Bilingual education has been practiced in many forms, in many countries, for thousands of years. Defined broadly, it can mean any use of two languages in school – by teachers or students or both – for a variety of social and pedagogical purposes. At Barbara Jordan Early College Prep, it refers to teachers using the spanish language for instruction to English Language Learners (ELLs). When schools provide children quality education in their primary language, they give them two things: knowledge and literacy. The knowledge that children get through their first language helps make the English they hear and read more comprehensible. Literacy developed in the primary language transfers to the second language. The reason is simple: Because we learn to read by reading – that is, by making sense of what is on the page (Smith, 1994) – it is easier to learn to read in a language we understand. Once we can read in one language, we can read in general. 

Goals of our program include:

• Teach English
• Fostering Academic Achievement
• Preserving a Minority Groups Linguistic and Cultural heritage