The Spanish Dual Language Academy (DLA), which launched this school year at the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD), provided a mid-year update on the program’s progress at the BHUSD Board of Education’s Jan. 27 meeting.
The DLA was rolled out at Horace Mann and El Rodeo Elementary Schools with one kindergarten class and one first-grade class at Horace Mann, and one kindergarten class and two first grade classes at El Rodeo.
According to Horace Mann Assistant Principal Adrienne Kim, who together with El Rodeo Assistant Principal William Cameron gave a presentation to the board, first grade students enrolled in the program are “building Spanish literacy skills at the expected rate for a first-year immersion program, and the instructional approach is working.”
Kinder students in the program have shown “a consistent performance across sites, which tells us that our launch implementation is aligned,” she said.
Student progress is being evaluated through a combination of i-Ready, classroom assessments and teacher evaluations.
Addressing some parent concerns, Assistant Superintendent Dustin Seemann spoke about the program’s “90-10” approach, in which 90% of core subject instruction is done in Spanish and 10% is done in English. As students enter middle school, instruction will shift to a 50-50 model, he said.
“We spent the weekend at a DLA conference this past weekend at San Diego State, and everything and every session we sat through consistently doubled down on the fact that a 90-10 model within the first two years, as we move into a 50-50, those students … do outperform their English-only students by the time that they hit middle school,” he said.
In advance of the presentation given by Kim and Cameron, a group of first graders enrolled in the DLA program performed a poem, “El Puente,” in both English and Spanish and a story, “Isabel Ayuda,” in Spanish.
The board initially discussed the idea for the DLA in May 2025 and gave administrators the green light to bring the idea to fruition at that time. At that board meeting, Seemann noted that it seemed to be the right time to implement the idea since BHUSD Superintendent Alex Cherniss had spearheaded similar projects in other districts, and the idea had the support of the board.
Curriculum was vetted by district personnel, and teachers were recruited as students were simultaneously enrolled. Students in the program are instructed using the same state-approved curriculum as those in English-only classes.
BHUSD additionally partnered with TNTP, a nonprofit educational consultation organization, to launch the DLA.
At the Jan. 27 board meeting, Cherniss expressed his enthusiasm about the DLA.
“This program will forever change the Beverly Hills Unified School District,” he said. “We each and every year will grow this program to where we are going to have fluent students in Spanish beginning by the time they get to middle school. So, I couldn’t be happier with the progress. I can tell you we’ve already started enrollment for next year, and we’re on our way to two full classes, one at each school already … it’s a huge win for our district that we put in place in very short time.”
Speaking in Spanish, Board Member Amanda Stern thanked the teachers and Cherniss, and said that she wanted to practice her own Spanish as she was once a student in a bilingual program as well. She additionally stated that she was very impressed with all the children.
“It was a turning point for us to see [the program] because it was one of the most distinct programs we’ve had in a long time,” she said.
Board Member Rachelle Marcus, who taught in the district for more than 50 years, also voiced her appreciation for the teachers, students and parents who have participated in the DLA so far.
“I hope that we’re able to keep up with the need and the demand so that we can find the people to continue the program, because I see it’s wonderful, and I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “I’m just thinking to myself, they’re going to get to sixth grade, and my goodness, are Spanish classes going to have to be AP at that point? Because they’re going to be so super ready. And I’m glad that we’ve got the program in. It’s been very popular, and I’m glad to see it’s continuing on.”
According to Seemann, registration recently opened for current transitional Kindergarten students whose families wish to enroll them in the program for the next school year.
