Popular Spanish-English Program Finally Headed to San Juan's Middle School

 in San Juan Capistrano will begin participating in a two-way immersion language program in fall with two classes—sixth and seventh grades—with students from South Orange County cities.

"We're really excited that everyone's on board, and it's going to be a really great experience for the kids," said mom Karin Bellinghausen, who lives in Laguna Niguel. She has both an incoming sixth- and seventh-grader in the program.

, which normally serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade, retained its first class of  students this year, currently in sixth grade. officials decided a year ago that Marco needed extra time to put together a middle-school program for the program's students, who from kindergarten are immersed in both Spanish and English.

“They’re on their way,” Marco Principal Carrie Bertini said Thursday night.

The seventh-grade program  earlier this year, because Marco needed a commitment from at least 25 incoming seventh-grade families. The current sixth-grade class at San Juan Elementary has 29 students, and all but one will be continuing on to Marco for two-way instruction.

“It’s like I’m pregnant,” Bertini said. “We just need to start it.”

Bellinghausen said a large portion of the current sixth-grade class at San Juan Elementary is from outside Marco's attendance areas, maybe 40 percent to 50 percent. Families from Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo were initially on the fence about continuing to drive to San Juan Capistrano to continue the program.

Bertini "was instrumental in convincing parents it was the right choice to come to Marco," Bellinghausen said.

in San Clemente—known as  BAMS—is the only middle school in Capo Unified currently serving two-way program students, solely for the students graduating from in San Clemente.

Marco’s two-way program will differ slightly from BAMS’ in that sixth-graders will have three periods in Spanish: science, social science and Spanish. BAMS offers two periods in Spanish: social science and Spanish.

Then in seventh and eighth grades, Marco will follow the BAMS model, with two classes in Spanish in seventh and one in eighth, Bertini said. The two-way program kids can continue their advanced Spanish studies at San Clemente High School and .

Parent Lia Vardakostas was prepared to pull her incoming seventh-grader out of the program and was relieved to find out her child could continue on with the specialized language development.

"Marco will give them so many more options, and with the class going over together, that should help with integration as seventh graders," she said.

Because many of the students are from the Marco enrollment area, the two-way program will not greatly impact the number of students at Marco, which currently has 1,364 students. The five-year projections have enrollment growing by 150 students to accommodate the two-way program kids, Bertini said.

in Mission Viejo started a two-way program this year. The district has not yet determined where those students will go to middle school. One option is , a K-8 that has the academically demanding International Baccalaureate program, district officials have said.

Bertini, for one, can’t wait to get the two-way program kids to Marco.

“The opportunities are endless. It is going to be the next step in improving our school,” she said. 

Melissa Hodge contributed to this report.