Harford County Public Schools received a $500,000 grant to expand its Spanish immersion program into Red Pump Elementary School in Bel Air.

The grant from the Department of Defense Education Activity will help the district grow its Teaching through Immersion in Elementary Schools program, which provides grade level content and literacy instruction to students through two languages. The program begins in kindergarten or first grade and aims to promote bilingualism and literacy while increasing academic achievement and post-graduation opportunities for students.

Harford County Public Schools first received a grant for the program in 2023. The previous $500,000 award helped launch a pilot program at Emmorton Elementary School, also in Bel Air, where a kindergarten Spanish immersion classroom was established in fall 2024. Each year, the district will use a “phased-in approach” to add the next grade level to the Spanish immersion program, with the goal of reaching third grade by the 2028-2029 school year.

The school system says it has seen substantial progress from the first cohort of 36 kindergarten students. All students in the immersion program met or exceeded end-of-year benchmarks, the school system said. The second cohort of 42 kindergarteners started this year.

“Early immersion builds the foundation for bilingualism, cultural competence and global readiness,” said Superintendent Sean Bulson, in a news release. “The remarkable success of our students and families at Emmorton Elementary underscores the power of early language education.”

Harford County Public Schools also participates in the Department of Defense Education Activity’s World Language Advancement and Readiness program, which supports the establishment and expansion of world language programming in school districts where at least 10% of students are military-connected and where there is an active JROTC program.

“DoDEA’s support is critical to providing high-quality programming that benefits all learners, including our military-connected families,” said Harford County Board of Education President Aaron Poynton. “We are honored to be recognized once again and look forward to the continued success of the TIES program.”

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