We Advocate and Inform Policy
We help make language immersion available across the DC region by informing education and economic development decision-makers about the value of linguistic and cultural competence.
We partner with leading education and family rights’ organizations to form broad advocacy coalitions.
We partner with think tanks and universities for our policy work to go deeper.
OUTCOMES
- Legislation to expand dual language introduced by majority of DC Council
- Creation and funding of Office of Multilingual Education
- 40 ambassadors trained to be advocates
- Language remains high school graduation requirement for all
Your entire coalition […] has made a huge difference to move us forward in DC.
How DLI Programs in the District Can be Utilized to Combat Inequality and Racial Segregation
By: Catherine Pulupa and Rebecca Rubin Damari from the University of Maryland's National Foreign Language Center To view full report click here Widespread outrage in response to the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many other...
Open Letter to DCPS Chancellor on Houston Elementary
Dear Chancellor, Houston Elementary led the way in being the very first dual language program East of the River. DCPS listened to the wishes of the Deanwood community and in 2016 Houston Elementary enrolled an inaugural PK3 class of 30 students who would go onto...
Third Dual Language Program East of the River!
We are delighted to announce a third dual language program will open its doors East of the River in school year 2021-22. Last month, the DC Public Charter School Board moved to grant preliminary approval to Global Citizens Public Charter School to offer a dual...
Omar Offendum: Peace Activism Through Languages
Known for his unique blend of Hip-Hop & Arabic poetry, Syrian American artist Omar Offendum shared his perspective on the power of languages in peace activism and uniting people all over the globe during the 2020 Multilingual Education Fair of DC. Generously...
East End Ribbon Cutting for Elsie Whitlow Stokes!
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of Elsie Whitlow Stokes East End PCS embodies how far we have come in the understanding of and support for dual language programs in the District of Columbia. DC Immersion is incredibly proud of this progress. Read our...
DCAYA’s Advocacy Impact Award goes to … DC Immersion!
In September, DC Immersion's Executive Director Vanessa Bertelli was awarded the 2018 Individual Advocacy Impact Award in recognition of her outstanding leadership and achievement in promoting citywide progress on behalf of youth, young adults and students. We are...
The next DCPS Chancellor must be a champion of multilingual education
The DC Language Immersion Project works to engage families, support educators, research best practices and advocate for a systemic approach to close the opportunity gap through multilingual education. In December of 2016, we testified in front of the Education...
Meet Marjoury Alicea, SBOE’s bilingual student representative
The State Board of Education recently announced it’s selection for student representatives. We were fortunate enough to meet Miss Marjoury Alicea, the newly appointed student representative, and learned about her goals in this new chapter and how her bilingual...
Handy guide to educate your preferred candidate
Election season is upon us. So we've compiled a handy guide to help you educate your favorite candidate about the need for more and better multilingual education in DC. CHILDREN IN DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAMS ACHIEVE BETTER, WHATEVER THEIR SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, ETHNICITY...
Invest 550,000 in FY2019 for Multilingual Education!
Demand for multilingual education in the District is off the charts, but only 8% of District youth have access to these opportunity-boosting programs. The Mayor’s proposed fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget DOES NOT include funding for multilingual education which is key to...
Demand for Dual Language Programs Surges – The District must invest in bilingual education
To ensure inclusive cultural innovation, linguistic and cultural competence must be part of DC’s Cultural Plan
Below are DC Immersion's comments on the DC Cultural Plan. We respectfully ask that the funding of linguistic and cultural competence become an integral part of DC’s Cultural Plan. The District has a lot to gain from linguistic and cultural competence.* Better...
Letter: Bilingual Education Should Be Available to All Children
Below is DC Immersion's Executive Director Vanessa Bertelli's Letter to the Editor which was published on The Atlantic on February 3rd, 2018. Read more here. A reader argues that a more desirable workforce—and a more equitable society—hangs in the balance. Conor...
Advocacy Toolkit for DC Parents
We've listened! Here is the ultimate advocacy toolkit to get a multilingual program started in your community. Tell us a little more about yourself so we can better support and connect you with other advocates in your community, and download the toolkit here. Or you...
An interview with Fabrice Jaumont
Below is an interview with our friend Fabrice Jaumont author of “Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education is in Two Languages”. He is one of the international authorities on bilingual education and community engagement relating to it. We owe him a debt of...
Praise from the Committee on Education
DC Immersion was among many respected education advocates to testify during the DC Council's Committee on Education hearing on the 2017-2022 DC Public Schools Strategic Plan. Together with other public witnesses, DC Immersion spoke out in support of DCPS strategic...
Our Neighborhood School Didn’t Have a Dual-Language Immersion Program So We Started One
By Jimell Sanders, Education Post, April 10, 2017 "It was clear our home address was determining what opportunities were available to us, and, sadly, they were very few. We didn’t have the expertise to open a charter school and couldn’t wait on a charter school...
How will you Lead with Languages?
"Our national security, economic competitiveness and fabric as a united people demand that we increase our nation’s language skills and global competence." This is the introduction to the national call to action of the Lead With Languages campaign. We are very proud...
Talking points on ESSA
ESSA provides an opportunity to harness concrete, innovative, research-based initiatives that narrow the achievement gap, support all of DC’s student populations, and allow our children to develop critical 21st century skills and make DC’s workforce competitive. In...
Skylar wants to speak to her friends
DC Student's Perspective Skylar, an English native speaker third grader in one of DC's existing dual language immersion programs reminded us that students too must have a voice in this conversation. In an increasingly linguistically diverse city, children want to be...