White Plains and Valhalla region

Kevin Meyers, a kindergarten student in Adrienne Capocci Dual-Language class at the Carl L. Dixson Primary School in Elmsford, works on a class assignment Sept. 17, 2010. Meyers, who is from the Dominican Republic and speaks no english, is one of several students that has been immersed in classes at a young age, where English and Spanish are used for instruction 50% of the time. A 50:50 model, a first year program for the Elmsford School District, has two teachers. Adrienne Capocci who teaches in the ‘English’ zone and her counterpart, Catalina Krasnici who is fluent in both English and Spanish, teaching in the ‘Spanish’ zone. With both teachers mirroring the NYS Kindergarten curriculum in their respected classrooms, students are taught subjects of the day in both languages. Elmfords schools are joining neighboring Westchester schools with similar demographics that have had Dual Language programs since 2002, after the school district received a five year Two-Way Bilingual Education Grant from New York State.

View photos from the Dual-Language Classes at Carl L. Dixson Primary School in Elmsford here at LoHud.com.