SUFFERN — First graders sit in a circle sounding out new spelling words. “Mug,” the children repeat and they spell it out. In the class next door at RP Connor Elementary, students in their partner class chat with their teacher in Spanish.
The next day, the pupils change classrooms, and instruction continues in the other language.
Suffern’s two-way dual-language program is in its second year. Now offered in kindergarten and first grade at two campuses — RP Connor and Sloatsburg Elementary — the program will expand to second grade in 2026-2027.
The program is also drawing attention across the Hudson Valley and the state.
‘The model for the rest of our state’
In recent weeks, leaders from about a dozen Hudson Valley districts came to see the district’s dual-language classrooms and get some “how-to” tips to launch similar experiences for their students.
On April 30, state Education Associate Commissioner of Bilingual Education and World Languages Elisa Alvarez visited.
“Dual language is probably one of our most effective methods of helping students have an equitable footing,” Alvarez said after hanging out with first graders and chatting with them, in English and Spanish.
Alvarez saw the program as a way to build leadership but also empathy.
Alvarez said she viewed Suffern’s program as an “anchor and the model for the rest of our state to demonstrate what it looks like when educators, parents and the community come together for the good of the children.”
Other districts have started two-day dual-language programs, and Alvarez said the state wanted to help foster more. “Our goal is to create a framework.”
Suffern schools meeting needs, expanding skills
Like many school communities in the Hudson Valley, this small district in the westernmost area of Rockland County has seen its population of English-language learners grow.
The district’s director of multilingual education and instructional development, Patricia Balbuena-Rivera, saw opportunity. She worked with the administration to create a two-day dual-language program that provides children who need to learn English with the instruction they need, and offers English speakers a core education in Spanish.
“The theme of this district is ‘One Suffern,’ ” Balbuena-Rivera said during a recent visit to RP Connor.
The program, Balbuena-Rivera said, builds language skills and community.
“This is not Spanglish,” she said. “Our teachers commit to the language.”
A demographic shift and an opportunity
The program has become popular. There’s a waiting list for English-speaking students.
Balbuena-Rivera admits it’s been a little trickier to convince Spanish-speaking parents who are eager for their kids to learn English.
The program, though, provides Spanish-speaking children a formal education in their heritage language, an added dimension to their skills. She recalled her own childhood. Sitting at the kitchen table chatting with her mom, they weren’t discussing technical topics like the solar system in Spanish, she said.
Superintendent Erik Gundersen said the program provided the district with an opportunity to address a challenge. “There’s been a huge demographic shift in the district,” he said.
The English language learner, or ELL, population in Suffern, a district of around 3,800 public-school students, has doubled over the last five years. Now, 27% of the student body are English language learners.
Nancy Cutler covers People & Policy. Reach her at ncutler@lohud.com; follow her on X, Bluesky and Instagram at @nancyrockland.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Suffern schools build skills, community ties in dual-language program
Reporting by Nancy Cutler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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