Pleasant Run Elementary and Stonybrook Intermediate Middle School is the home for Warren's Spanish-English Dual Language Immersion Program. Through a dual language immersion program (also known as two-way immersion) students will be exposed to the same curriculum as their peers while also having the opportunity to learn a second language. Cultures will be explored and students will work and learn together, preparing them for a successful future in the multicultural world in which we live.

Dual language immersion programs integrate native English speaking students with native Spanish speaking students for academic instruction, which is presented in both languages. Social and academic learning occurs in an environment that values the language and culture of all students and sets high standards to ultimately achieve academic success in Spanish and English.

The goals is to have classrooms composed of 50 percent native English speakers and 50 percent native Spanish speakers. This ratio enables students to be language majority models and second language learners. The language used for instruction is also broken down by a 50/50 ratio. Fifty percent of classroom instruction is provided in English and fifty percent of classroom instruction is provided in Spanish. All students learn to read, write, listen, and speak two languages equally well.

The dual language model creates an additive bilingual environment, which allows students to acquire a second language while maintaining and developing their native language. The curriculum of the program is the same as in the general education program. All academic areas: reading, language arts, math, science, and social science, are taught in both Spanish and English.

The mission of Pleasant Run Elementary is “To prepare students to be self-directed learners who are bi-literate, creative, curious, civic-minded citizens in a multicultural environment in order to maximize their potential as individuals who demonstrate Civility, Order, Respect, and Excellence.”

Students in dual language programs are presented with the social and cognitive benefits of bilingualism. They gain a second language, a broader vocabulary, and multiple views of the world, (Cazabon, Lambert, & Heise-Baigorria, 2002). In order to acquire these benefits, the program sets out to accomplish the following goals:

• To provide valuable skills to students

• To develop both native language and second language

• To broaden students’ understanding of the world

• To develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English and Spanish

• To obtain high academic achievement