In Seguin, Texas, a group of eminently pragmatic fifth graders are not just playing at recess—they’re earning high school credits. Seguin ISD’s dual language program is fostering bilingual proficiency in students from early on, as reported by KENS 5. "By the Texas Education Code we are able to award students a high school credit if they have continuously for five years, been in a dual language program and also they have achieved a high status on the STAR test that meets our masters," Seguin ISD Superintendent Veronica Vigil told KENS 5.
The district boasts of 32 fifth graders already holding a credit towards their future high school diploma. Having grappled with both Spanish and English, these students set an example of academia interwoven deeply into the tapestry of primary schooling — a credit earned not just in linguistics but in foresight. "I think it's really cool. Like, because I'm just, like, barely going into sixth grade and I already have, like, something for high school," Dominic, one of the fifth graders, expressed in an interview with KENS 5.
Asher, another student from the program, found that dual language skills cemented his friendships. He told KENS 5, "I kind of wanted to learn the language so I could communicate with them. And, like, if we ever go to trips to Mexico, I could, like, communicate with all the people there." Meanwhile, the program is celebrated by students like Dorantes-Estrada, who sees the benefits ripple into his family life, elevating the bilingual dialogue within his home. Still fresh from his fifth-grade triumphs, Dorantes-Estrada told KENS 5, "My little brother started speaking Spanish more and like, my older brother mostly talks to me in English, but he also understands Spanish."
The benefits of such a program extend well past classroom doors, promising a brighter vocational and cultural horizon. "It gives me like opportunities for like jobs or like or like if you want to play like professional sports," Dorantes-Estrada pointed out in the KENS 5 report. Similarly, Popa acknowledged the importance of dual fluency, "If you only speak English and and somebody is talking to you in Spanish, you don't know what they're saying." Vigil concurs that this form of early-language education puts students years ahead, summarizing, "This is just a great recognition for the students to, already start their high school credits and, make some room for their schedules once they get to high school," thus suggesting an expansive room of both time and opportunity that awaits these young scholars when they step into the more demanding world of high school.
