Students who enroll in our schools will have the opportunity to graduate from high school fluent in two or more languages. They will be prepared and inspired to be lifelong learners so they may become confident, productive, competent and contributing members of our multicultural society.

     The mission of the KISD Bilingual Education Department is to create an environment that ensures that second language learners in our district meet or exceed state standards in all content areas. We commit to work with educators in capturing, inspiring, and teaching in order to ensure success for all students. 

• We believe that bilingual programs facilitate development of high levels of academic achievement, bilingualism and biliteracy, and cross-cultural awareness among participating students.
• We believe in a balanced literacy approach that incorporates reading, writing, listening, and speaking into core academic areas to promote language proficiency in both languages.
• We believe in home-school collaboration activities to encourage parental involvement in and advocacy for the program.
• We believe that Bilingual Education Programming is an enriching part of the school and district.

• Students will meet or exceed Texas standards for achievement.
• Students will achieve high levels of literacy (written and oral) in both Spanish and English and be fluent in both languages by the end of Grade 5.
• Students will develop an understanding and appreciation of multiculturalism. 

There are two program models for emergent bilingual (EB) students at Kennedale ISD.  There is a bilingual program offered at JAA Early Childhood Center (ECC) for grades prekindergarten and kindergarten and James F. Delaney Elementary for grades 1-5; and an ESL program is offered at all campuses.

• The bilingual program at ECC and Delaney Elementary will serve our Spanish-speaking emergent bilingual students. In a bilingual class, all students in the class share the same native language. On our two bilingual campuses, this native language is Spanish. In the earlier grades, students are primarily taught in Spanish, which provides them with a foundation in their native language. Once the foundation is established, English instruction is introduced. Eventually, the native language is phased out and English serves as the primary language of instruction. This transition occurs during second grade.
• ESL stands for English as a Second Language. ESL instruction is provided in our district in two ways. At Kennedale High School, our ESL students have ESOL for one of their class periods, in addition to their regular academic courses.  By taking this class separate from their core classes, students do not miss valuable instruction time in their regular classroom and are able to gain additional support and language instruction in their ESL class.  On our other campuses, ESL students are taught through a content-based inclusion model. Students are placed with teachers who have additional ESL training and are able to teach regular academic subjects using ESL strategies and techniques.  Often these classes use more visual aids, simplified English, hands-on activities, games, and Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) methods.  This method of ESL instruction allows students to keep up with the curriculum of their grade level and improve their English language skills at the same time.