SPOTLIGHTING EXCELLENCE: Manchester Students Thrive in Dual Language Immersion Program

Some young Manchester students are growing in two languages at once.

Through the state’s first Dual Language Immersion program, kindergarteners gain skills in English and either Spanish or French 

Manchester Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Chmiel was joined by Assistant Superintendent Nicole Doherty and Wendy Nasser Perron, Executive Director of Multilingual Learner Education, in sharing the success of Dual Language Immersion with the state Board of Education in Concord on Thursday, June 11.

The district started with a Spanish-English kindergarten class at Bakersville Elementary School in 2024, expanding to two kindergarten and two Grade 1 classrooms with about 70 students. Weston Elementary launched the first French/English kindergarten class last fall with 10 students.

Immersion differs from traditional bilingual education, in that students work toward grade level-learning standards while learning to speak, read and write in two languages. Studies have shown that students in Dual Language Immersion benefit cognitively, academically, and socially, and graduate with expanded worldviews, while being prepared for the global workforce.

Most importantly, students show higher achievement levels in both English and their second language.

Manchester’s program benefits from numerous volunteers who are proficient another language.

“There is a two-way level of communication respect,” Superintendent Chmiel said. “They understand that we are hearing and seeing them, and they see how we do the business of public education.”

Incoming kindergarteners receive 90 percent of instruction in the target language, with that percentage reducing each year to a 50-50 split with English as the program grows to Grade 5.

Participation is optional. The district hopes to have half of students come from Spanish- or French-speaking homes, allowing all students to become proficient in both languages and have strong academic outcomes.

Board of Education members were enthusiastic about Manchester’s success and interested in replicating the program across the state. Assistant Superintendent Doherty shared that parents from outside the district have inquired about Dual Language Immersion, considering transferring their child to take advantage.

“The Manchester School District’s Dual Language Immersion Program is a great example of how our public-school districts are innovatively serving their learning communities,” said Dr. Mark MacLean, Executive Director of the New Hampshire School Administrators Association. “By engaging students and families in authentic and meaningful ways, the MSD is making a positive and lasting difference in their students’ lives.”