Recognizing 13 years of hard work: TTSD’s Two-Way Immersion program celebrates graduation of first cohort of students

In fall 2012, students in Stephanie Dahlman’s kindergarten class at Metzger Elementary School busied themselves by cutting out shapes and gluing them to pieces of paper with their teacher praising their colorful creations. 

What made the class different from similar classes in the Tigard-Tualatin School District was that Dahlman’s lessons were all in Spanish, part of a pilot program of dual-language immersion. 

Fast forward 13 years to Tuesday, May 27, as more than 40 students — many of them from that original cohort — who congregated to the commons area at Tigard High School for a recognition ceremony of those accomplishments. 

The evening, dubbed Primer Cohorte, or First Cohort, was a long-coming celebration of the district’s Two-Way Immersion program, commonly referred to as TWI (pronounced “twee”).

The program teaches students multilingual skills and multicultural connections. 

One of those students waiting for festivities to begin was Tigard High senior Trevor Gilbert. 

“I would say going through the TWI program was probably one of the most beneficial things I could have done,” he said, adding that it provided him with a lot of different experiences, “especially with the people that I was able to surround myself with. I basically absorbed a new environment, especially getting closer with people within the Hispanic community.”

Learning more about Hispanic culture and being able to integrate within that community through learning Spanish “was something that was amazing,” Gilbert said. 

Also, with plans to study business administration and entrepreneurship at the University of Oregon, being bilingual could prove an advantage if he chose to work in a global business field, Gilbert pointed out.

Learning not to judge

Likewise, another graduating senior, Jessica T. Rocha López, who started at the Metzger program, said she’s glad she attended the Two-Way Immersion program, noting that some of her closest friends are part of the multilingual program.

“The most important thing I learned in the TWI program, I would say (is) not to judge others and to really build a community wherever you go,” said Rocha López, who plans on majoring in biology at the University of Portland in the fall. 

Like the majority of TWI students, she holds an Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy certificate, having demonstrated a high level of proficiency in two or more languages. Those certificates, based on completing a challenging test, were distributed at Tuesday’s recognition ceremony.

Program has kept students on track

Ronny Vásquez Quintas, a TWI first cohort who also started at Metzger Elementary School, said he began the program knowing only a little bit of Spanish. 

Now fluent in Spanish, he said going between English and Spanish has helped him both at home and life in general. Like Rocha López, he too has close friends who have been in the program since the beginning.

“I’ve seen people come and go, but usually the ones who I’ve seen the most have been with me ever since the beginning,” he said, adding that he believes the program kept him on track throughout the years.

A self-acknowledged creative person, Quintas said he’ll attend Portland Community College next year to study art.

Although TWI graduate Anna Mimnaugh also is glad she attended the bilingual program, she admits she struggled at times to learn Spanish. 

“It’s hard to learn a new language when you’re so young, but I think it’s definitely going to pay off, and I plan to minor in (Spanish) in college and hopefully use it in my job in the future,” she said. Mimnaugh is planning to major in human physiology at the University of Oregon and believes her fluency in Spanish will benefit her future career as a pediatric nurse practitioner.

Teacher-turned-administrator has watched students grow

Noticeably excited about Tuesday’s program too was Giselle Escobar — now an associate principal at Tigard High School — who was involved in the original program at Metzger. 

Moving into administration after getting her teaching credentials from George Fox University, she’s been able to see those same students progress through the years. 

“I welcomed them to kindergarten and then again joined them for high school as their associate principal,” she said.

Asked about the most important lessons she thinks those students have learned over the years, Escobar replied, “I think the most important thing is valuing what everybody brings to the table, whether it’s their ethnic background or culture (and) who they are as people,” she said. 

That includes “being flexible, being tolerant and being multicultural human beings.”