Spanish and English already share just about every space at South Shore Elementary School. Both languages grace library books, hallway signs, parent newsletters and more. Starting this fall, however, the languages also will have equal time in each class, not just the ones dedicated to the district's sole elementary dual-immersion program.

South Shore has been working to recruit bilingual staff members and faculty of Latino heritage. However, not every faculty member is bilingual currently, so some students will be in classes that use both Spanish and English, while others will swap rooms during the day between English-speaking teachers and Spanish-speaking teachers. 

Members of the Albany School Board first received information about the magnet request on June 1 and took a formal vote to adopt the designation June 15.

Principal Michael Ann McIlvenny said she's not expecting the change to inconvenience very many families — most of the children in the current English-only classes are on the waiting list for dual immersion anyway, which is what prompted the expansion — but options are in place for the parents who have asked for one. 

As of the June 15 board report, five families whose children had been in kindergarten or first grade this past year had said they would prefer to stay with English only, as did four of the families in this fall's incoming kindergarten class. 

Assistant Superintendent Tonja Everest said the district is offering busing for those families to Periwinkle, Central or Takena elementary schools. Another option, for the kindergartners, will be simply to stay in their same South Shore classes for both English-only portions of the day, instead of switching rooms for Spanish.

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