(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa school district is adding a dual language program next fall that will have kindergartners learning English and Spanish. Corry Spies, principal at Franklin Elementary School in Muscatine, says parents of kindergartners can sign them up for the program that will start in August and it will extend to the following grade every year. Spies says, “It’s just something that will continue to help our students overall in life with problem-solving skills, building leadership, self-confidence, and then strengthen that bond that exists between our schools and our community.”

Becky Wichers, the Muscatine district’s director of student services, says the program will benefit kids who speak English at home, but especially those who speak Spanish at home. “So it lets them be a leader in the classroom,” Wichers says, “and I think it really demonstrates the appreciation for our native-speaking Spanish students and their families, so I think culturally, it will really enhance that relationship.”

The Muscatine Community School District already has a similar program for four-year-olds in preschool, but this will be the first time it’s brought into the district’s K-12 system.

(by Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio)