If there would be a mix of English speaking and Spanish speaking children you would have to be aware that many new immigrant Spanish speaking children tend to track severly behind English speaking children. [/quote]
I have been lurking on the list for a while now, trying to hold my tongue. But I just couldn't ignore this comment, which I found rather troubling. My son goes to a school with many Spanish speaking children who come from new immigrant families. Many are quite bright and most very hard working. They do not appear different in their abilites than the English speaking children. Some are gifted but do not do well on the qualifying tests because they are still working on learning English. It seems to me that many of these very bright children would really be able to show their true abilities in a dual-immersion program.
I am a strong proponant of exposing our children to people from a variety of backgrounds. I think it prepares them to work in the diverse world that they will eventually end up in. And struggling with a new language while other students are fluent can increase empathy and understanding of the difficulties that new immigrants face. I do not want my child to just be smart, I want him to be kind, compassionate, and an active participant in the global community.
So I say go for the dual-immersion. What a great opportunity to meet people and make new friends that he might not otherwise have a chance to meet and learn a skill he would not otherwise have. I have never been able to lose my American accent when speaking Spanish and I am jealous of folks who learn while they are still young.
