Meeting in the Middle

Language is a great divider, and as the East End’s demographics have steadily evolved over the past two decades, finding ways to bridge that divide is essential. That’s particularly true for school-age children, who often find themselves immersed in a new culture without the skills to communicate.

But Southampton School District recognized that the language gap is bad for the school community in general — and that it presents not just a challenge but an opportunity. Rather than focusing solely on Spanish-speaking students and their needs, the district’s dual language program, which is now in its 20th year, benefits all students on both sides of the divide, having them meet in the middle by learning each other’s languages.

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that Southampton’s path is one other districts in the region should follow. Training bilingual students has opened up new career paths and educational opportunities for many students. But the most important benefit might be socially: Where there was a clear line of demarcation, creating a category of “other” based solely on language skills, that line has been erased for many young men and women, and friendships have blossomed. Meanwhile, students learn more about the panoply of cultures surrounding them, broadening their horizons and encouraging them to see the differences in the world as features, not bugs. Differences should be embraced, not feared and treated as a problem.

East Hampton is following a similar path toward a dual language curriculum, but it is time for other South Fork school districts to have this conversation. Southampton recently crossed the threshold and became a majority Hispanic district; several other districts passed that milestone years ago. There is fertile ground to use this changing social landscape to make more kids bilingual, and thus better prepared to function and compete in an increasingly bilingual world. It’s a challenge — Southampton’s story demonstrates that it requires a deep commitment from district officials and skillful instructors, and a great deal of patience and perseverance. But the benefits for the kids, and the school community, are bountiful.

School officials are always talking about investing in kids — the dual language program is a manifestation of that concept. And the kids, all of them, are worth it.