NNPS dual language high school students give presentation to program’s elementary schoolers
Posted: October 29, 2025
Menchville High School students in the first Newport News Public Schools group to participate in the school division’s Dual Language Immersion program since Kindergarten gave a presentation in Spanish to current DLI students at Saunders Elementary School on October 28.
The 16 Menchville students each narrated individual sections of a presentation celebrating Hispanic heritage that included explanations of cultural background, information about famous Latino people and demonstrations of several types of traditional dances. Saunders students listened closely to each of the speakers and responded with copious applause.
The younger students got to hear from high schoolers who have become proficient in both English and Spanish through years of study at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
“The importance is for them to see what they can become and what they will become and their abilities to dominate both languages,” said Susanna Bailey, NNPS instructional supervisor of World Languages and Dual Language Immersion. “At first, that confidence might not show in kindergarten or first grade, but if they stick with it, it will come. Before long, they’ll be speaking and presenting comfortably in both languages.
“It was a full circle moment. I really love the fact that we were able to bring them back to the place where it all began for them, so that they can pour back into our future high school students.”
The original group of first DLI students attended Saunders Elementary School and Gildersleeve Middle School together, and are now eleventh graders at Menchville. They will graduate in 2027 as the first to complete DLI for all years of their education.
NNPS Dual Language Immersion students learn half in English and half in Spanish, and their classes consist of native English and Spanish speakers who support one another each school day. This fosters bilingualism, biliteracy and cross-cultural understanding, according to Bailey.
