Education
River Rock Elementary launches new Spanish Immersion program
Megan Wallgren | Lehi Free Press
Lehi’s River Rock Elementary is excited to announce the launch of its brand-new Spanish Dual Language Immersion program, which began this past week with first-grade students. This is the school’s first year offering an immersion program, which will expand annually by adding a new grade level as the initial students progress through the school.
The inaugural group comprises two first-grade classes, each with 32 students, totaling 64 students. According to River Rock secretary Roni Carter, half of the students have Spanish spoken primarily at home, and the other half have English as their home language. Together, they will spend half of each day learning in Spanish and the other half in English.
Students will speak English for reading and writing, while Spanish will be the primary language for math and science. As students reach higher grades, the subjects taught in each language will rotate to ensure a well-rounded academic experience in both English and Spanish.
River Rock has a total of five first-grade classes, two of which are part of this new program. Carter said the Alpine School District specifically selected River Rock to host an immersion program in Lehi after conducting a survey of community needs. “Until now, the closest Spanish Immersion school was Harvest Elementary in Saratoga Springs, where the waitlist had grown so long that many Lehi families were unable to participate,” she said.
Carter said interest in the program has been overwhelming. Besides the 64 students admitted, more than 70 students were placed on the waitlist. In all, over 150 incoming first graders expressed interest in the program.
Alpine School District has 13 Dual Language Immersion programs in elementary schools throughout the district. Seven are Spanish Immersion programs. There are also programs in Chinese, French, and Portuguese. Lehi’s only other Dual Immersion program is French Immersion at Belmont Elementary.
