Loyola University Maryland and Archbishop Borders School have partnered to help develop and improve the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s first dual-language program, a form of bilingual education in which students are taught literacy and content in two languages.

Loyola University Maryland and Archbishop Borders School have partnered to help develop and improve the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s first dual-language program, a form of bilingual education in which students are taught literacy and content in two languages.

In 2010, Archbishop Borders School, in Baltimore’s Highlandtown neighborhood, saw a need for a dual-language program in their school and community. The area has seen an increase in Spanish-speaking residents. The school partnered with the Roche Center of Boston College and their Two-Way Immersion Network for Catholic Schools (TWIN-CS). The initiative, involving 15 Catholic schools across the nation, is led by Boston College faculty and other university researchers, including Margarita Zisselsberger, Ph.D., assistant professor in literacy education at Loyola.

Zisselsberger earned her doctorate at Boston College, and was hired at Loyola in 2012. She became the faculty member in residence at Archbishop Borders shortly after her arrival.

“It was serendipitous that I got hired at Loyola,” she said of her TWIN-CS connection.

Through the TWIN-CS network, Zisselsberger says she’s a mentor and supporter. She helps Archbishop Borders faculty prepare for dual-language in the classroom, while focusing on the academic development of the whole school.

The current TWIN program serves pre-k through third grade, but Zisselsberger is working to create curriculum to serve all elementary and middle grade levels. And Archbishop Borders has taken on the challenge, adding one new grade level each year. Fourth grade will be added for the 2015-2016 academic year.

For Zisselsberger, the dual-language component in the classroom is personal. Her parents came to America as immigrants – her mother from Cuba and her father from Spain. Both were English language learners. Their struggles opened her eyes.

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