Portsmouth Public Schools has been selected for the 2024 Department of Defense Education Activity
(DoDEA) World Language Advancement and Readiness Program (WLARP) grant. The grant is worth
$500,000.
DoDEA grants aim to strengthen family-school-community relationships and enhance student
achievement for military dependent students. This grant will support the division’s new Dual Language
Immersion program, which is in its first year of implementation at Brighton Elementary School,
Churchland Primary and Intermediate Elementary School, and Simonsdale Elementary School.
“We are grateful to the DoDEA grant team for this incredible opportunity to support and expand our
Dual Language Immersion program,” said Portsmouth Public Schools Chief Academic Officer Dr. Nicole
DeVries. “In just its first year, we have seen great participation in and enthusiasm for this program, and
we are looking forward to further developing it in the years to come.”
The Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program is taught taught by bilingual teachers and instructional
assistants with the goal of all students learning to read, write and speak in both Spanish and English
(helping students develop both bilingualism and biliteracy). This helps to promote high academic
achievement in both program languages (currently English and Spanish), foster socio-cultural
competence, and also increase interest and participation in world language instruction.
Given the high population of military-connected students at Churchland Primary and Intermediate
Elementary School, these funds are dedicated to the support of the DLI program at that site.
To learn more about the DLI program, visit the DLI webpage on ppsk12.us.