Thurmond promotes dual-language programs to attract and retain more students

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond visited a dual-language-immersion school in Oxnard this week to promote a bill that would fund more schools like this throughout the state.

Thurmond and state Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, visited a class of sixth grade students who asked questions in Spanish and English, according to the newspaper VC Star.

According to the newspaper, Thurmond said funding more bilingual immersion programs can attract and retain more students, in light of declining enrollment in the state.

“These students talked about, in a really articulate way, why a program like this is so important,” Thurmond said.

Limón, who authored Senate Bill 952, said she was inspired to write the bill to replicate the success of the program at Juan Soria Elementary School.