All districts — Two leaders in bilingual education aim to foster growth and collaboration through a virtual book club for dual-language educators this summer.
Southwest Middle High School Academia Bilingue Principal Julian Ramirez-Torres is leading the club with former Southwest bilingual educator J-Lin Tamminga. The six weeks started on Thursday, June 25, and virtual meetings take place at 9 p.m. every Thursday through July 30.
Tamminga and Ramirez-Torres are leading conversations about the book, “Overcoming the Gentrification of Dual Language, Bilingual and Immersion Education: Solution-Oriented Research and Stakeholder Resources for Real Integration,” written by M. Garrett Delavan, Juan A. Freire and Kate Menken.
Dual-immersion education models provide students with instruction in two languages, often Spanish and English, to grow as biliterate readers and writers and become capable of earning the Seal of Biliteracy award.
“Each chapter is a case study at a different school, how programs have come to be, how parents have advocated and how programs have dissolved,” Tamminga said. “I really want to apply it to what is going on in the greater Grand Rapids area and continue to grow the advocacy for these programs for all children.”
The two have been working together since 2019, advocating for dual-language educators and students. They have a podcast in the works, with plans to record episodes later this summer.
“We like to be really intentional about providing those spaces and opportunities for dual-language teachers and leaders to have the space where they can learn more; they can collaborate,” Tamminga said.
Ramirez-Torres added: “I hope educators gain some knowledge, feel more equipped to advocate for these programs, and continue to network and connect with people for support.”
Expanding Advocacy for Dual-Language Learning
Since becoming principal of Southwest in 2022, Ramirez-Torres has witnessed the growth of their dual-language immersion program. Southwest’s class of 2024 made history when the 55-student group was the English/Spanish school’s first-ever graduating class from the city’s first high school of its kind.
Tamminga taught at Southwest for almost 20 years and later became an instructional coach in the building. She also co-founded Multilingual Mosaics, an organization providing professional development, coaching and consulting to teachers and school leaders in dual-language programs.
Currently, Tamminga is the supervisor of student support systems at Meadow Brook Elementary in Forest Hills.
“We need advocacy for our students, particularly who are native Spanish speakers, to be able to maintain their language, be bilingual and biliterate,” she said. “There are so many benefits to being bilingual, benefits we want students to have no matter where they come from.”
As the building leader of a dual-language program, Ramirez-Torres said it comes with “advocating and instilling pride in students about their heritage.”
“For years, I never felt that sense of pride of being a bilingual person,” he said. “I want to make sure that we shift away from that to ensure students can feel proud of who they are, what their heritage is, and really be proud to be bilingual.”
Participants are responsible for obtaining their own copy of the book and are not required to attend every week. Interested individuals can fill out this form to receive access to the virtual book club and can contact Tamminga and Ramirez-Torres with any questions at rallypointpodcast@gmail.com.
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