Doug Finch and committee members updated the Provo City School Board on the district’s Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs during the Sept. 19 study session. Finch outlined program structure, types (one‑way and two‑way models) and noted that while the district once enrolled roughly one in three students in DLI cohorts at peak, current cohort sizes are closer to one in four. The DLI portfolio includes multiple languages (Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, French) with Timpanogos operating as a two‑way, non‑state‑aligned program.

Jamie presented a linked parent and staff survey (about 425 parent responses from DLI families) showing 94.8 percent satisfaction among participating parents. Parents praised teacher language use and instruction, but asked for stronger student-speaking proficiency and clearer pathways to high‑school bridge and concurrent‑enrollment opportunities. Finch and Jamie explained that roughly 40–50 percent of students who begin DLI reach the AP exam and bridge courses that feed concurrent enrollment; families’ later choices about majors, electives and schedules affect continuation rates.

Trustees asked about language‑specific differences, and presenters acknowledged that Romance languages’ AP exams differ from Chinese, where character literacy raises preparation needs and may push the target exam year later. Board members also discussed inequities in program placement and operational impacts on smaller schools where non‑immersion classes can become undersized, increasing the district’s need for supplemental FTEs or other supports.

Next steps: board members asked staff to bring back comparative academic outcome data (including comparisons between CAS and DLI where possible), examine equity implications across neighborhoods, and define follow‑up questions for Nate Mitchell’s quantitative RISE‑based study of program outcomes.

No formal commitments were made during the study session; the board asked for more granular enrollment, AP/bridge progression by language, and schedules that influence continuation.