UPDATE: THE DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM IS RETURNING TO WALTER C. YOUNG MIDDLE!

Please join the informational meeting via Zoom on February 20th at 5:00 pm.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/96864522720?pwd=Z5jEWnzQByx6wUPxEUqwH8dY4KMBjW.1

Meeting ID: 968 6452 2720
Passcode: 6NU2KD

We are a group of concerned parents of fifth-grade dual language students in Pembroke Pines.

When our children started the dual language program, our families were promised a pathway into middle school and high school. Then, these pathways slowly disappeared. In the current school year, the closest middle schools that offer dual language are in Weston.

The good news is that there is a real interest on the part of the administration of Walter C. Young Middle (WCY), an A school, with the support of the Bilingual Department at District, to restart the dual language program in the 2025-2026 academic year. Combined with the newly introduced block scheduling and the Cambridge program, dual language has a great chance to take root and thrive at WCY.

The purpose of this petition is to show that the community supports the dual language program and we will consider enrolling our children at WCY when the program is established.

We offer these evidence-based reasons in support of dual language programs from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

• Bilingual and Biliterate Proficiency: Dual language programs facilitate the development of biliteracy, including cognitive academic language not only speaking fluency, and are beneficial for both native and non-native English speakers.
• Academic Benefits: There is overwhelming research evidence to support the academic benefits of dual language programs. Done right, these programs help students achieve not only in reading and language but in other academic areas as well.
• Strong Social Connections: There is evidence to suggest that students in dual language programs tend to form stronger social bonds.
• Seal of Biliteracy and Long-term Career Advantage: Without a continuous dual language program, students are essentially deprived of the opportunity to graduate with the Florida Seal of Biliteracy. Bilingual/biliterate students have a career advantage that currently only 20% of Americans have.

Please sign this petition to show your support for the dual language program at Walter C. Young Middle so that our children can reap the benefits of biliteracy.