Two Way Dual Language

Tomball ISD Two-Way Dual Language is a biliteracy model that integrates native English speakers and native Spanish speakers. Students will receive instruction in both languages through the core content areas of Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies.

The goal of Two-Way Dual Language is to help students become bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural while promoting high academic achievement.

VISION

Tomball ISD will serve as a premier district of choice expanding student opportunities to develop a bilingual and biliterate foundation in elementary school.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Tomball ISD Two-Way Dual Language is for all students to reach high levels of academic achievement, develop biliteracy and bilingualism, and cultivate global competence in order to succeed in a multicultural society and global economy.

Pillars of Dual Language

Bilingualism & Biliteracy	High Levels of Academic Achievement	Sociocultural Competence

Dual Language Beliefs

Culturally responsive learning environments are essential to effective communication in a global society and will impact our community in a positive way.
Bilingualism and multilingualism create leadership opportunities and a pipeline to college and career success in a global society.
Biliteracy and bilingualism at an early age align with the development of languages and will provide more opportunities and a competitive advantage for our students in the future.
Developing cultural awareness through learning multiple languages will promote acceptance and tolerance amongst well-rounded scholars.

Enrollment Availability

Two-Way Dual Language is available to incoming kindergarten students located within the Tomball ISD school boundaries. (Must be 5 yrs old on or before Sept. 1 of the current year).

For the 2024-25 school year, Tomball ISD will NO longer have any LOE (Limited Open Enrollment) transfers for out-of-district students, including siblings of current out-of-district TWDL students.

TWDL Locations

Grades K-4

Rosehill Elementary

17950 Waller-Tomball Rd.

Tomball

77377

281-357-3075

Grades 5-6

Tomball Intermediate

723 W. Main St.

Tomball

77375

281-357-3150

INTERESTED?

Parents of incoming Kindergarten students must attend one of the parent informational meetings or view the following parent information session slideshow before applying for Tomball ISD Two-Way Dual Language. Applications will be available through the TISD Link Application beginning March for the 2024-2025 school year and will be due by 5:30 p.m. on March (Tier I Status Applicants).

Parent meetings will be held at Rosehill Elementary on the following dates:

Tuesday, February 6, 2024 from 5:30 - 6:30 PM
Thursday, February 15, 2024 from 5:30 - 6:30 PM
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 from 5:30 - 6:30 PM

Parent Information Session Presentation

Enrollment Process
Information about TWDL

Enrollment Process

February 6, 2024

Parent Information Session #1

February 15, 2024

Parent Information Session #2

February 20, 2024

Parent Information Session #3

March 1, 2024

Kinder and TWDL Online Registration Application Opens TISD Link Application

*Screenshot of the TWDL Enrollment question within the TISD Link application for new TISD students registering for Kindergarten.

*Screenshot of the TWDL Application inside of Home Access Center (HAC) for current TISD Pre-K students registering for Kindergarten.

March 29, 2024 (Tier I Status Applicants)

TWDL Online Registration Application Closes

April 3-5, 2024

TWDL Application Lottery

April 8-12, 2024

Parent Notifications

August 13, 2024

First Day of 2024-2025 School Year

Information about TWDL

Application Process

Parents of incoming Kindergarten students interested in applying for a spot in Two-Way Dual Language are asked to attend one of the Parent Information Sessions offered in the early Spring. The application window will open after the last session and will remain open until Friday, March 29th (Tier I Status Applicants). There will then be a review of the applicants to ensure all are eligible. If applications exceed the number of available spots, a selection lottery will take place. Families will be notified of their application status.

After notification, families will need to confirm acceptance and agree to Parent Commitments.

Assessing Proficiency

Upon successful completion of five years in TWDL students are assessed to determine proficiency in English and Spanish for high school credit. For nonEB students, a LASLinks exam is administered in English and Spanish for Reading and Speaking to assess proficiency. For EB students, the TELPAS or the LASLinks English is administered in Reading and Speaking to assess proficiency.

Earning High School Credits

In accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.0051 and 19 TAC §74.12(b)(5)(F), a student may satisfy one credit of the two Language Other than English (LOTE) credits required for graduation by successfully completing a dual language immersion (DLI) program at elementary school. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) defines successfully completing a DLI program when students satisfy the following three requirements:

The student must have participated in a dual language immersion program for at least five consecutive school years (most students who began participating in Kindergarten hit their 5 years at the end of 4th grade).
The student must achieve high levels of academic competence as demonstrated by performance of meets or masters grade level on both the mathematics and reading State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) in English or Spanish, as applicable, in at least one grade level.
The student must achieve proficiency in both English and a language other than English as demonstrated by scores of proficient or higher in the reading and speaking domains on language proficiency or achievement tests in both languages.

In addition, students completing seven years (K-6) of TWDL can also take "exams for acceleration" to earn high school Spanish credits based on their proficiency. This would be in addition to the existing TWDL credit if earned. These exams can potentially award credits for Spanish II and III. For example, an “exam for acceleration”, will be administered for semester A and semester B of Spanish II. If the student is successful, then LOTE credit is awarded for Spanish II. The student would then take a semester A and Semester B exam for acceleration for Spanish III. The student can continue to acquire LOTE credits based on their level of proficiency through the “exam for acceleration” process.

Currently, Spanish I is offered at the Junior High level, but Spanish II is not. A student earning a high school credit from participating in a TWDL language from kindergarten to fifth grade, however, is still eligible to take an “exam for acceleration” to acquire additional LOTE high school credits. Students will have the opportunity to take a CBE to potentially earn extra LOTE credit.

Emergent Bilingual (EB) Students

Students identified as Emergent Bilingual (EB) students per TEA guidelines will be considered as native Spanish speakers. EB students must attend the dual language program where they are zoned. Currently, identified EB students on the north side of the district are zoned to Rosehill Elementary, and identified EB students on the south side of the district are zoned to Canyon Pointe Elementary.

Exceptions

Exceptions to the entry point of Kindergarten will be considered if students have participated in a dual language program elsewhere and if space permits. Documentation of participation in a dual language program must be provided including enrollment records, report cards, and progress reports. These documents will need to be submitted with the application.

Hiring & Teacher Certifications

All classroom teachers in TWDL must have a bilingual Texas teacher certification. Although one of the teachers is indicated as the “English” teacher, they are still required to implement strategies and teaching practices that require them to be bilingual.

Language Allocation Plan

As of the 2023-24 school year, TWDL implements the following language allocation plan. The allocation plan is subject to change and revisions based on data and student outcomes. This allocation plan indicates the language that teachers will use during the initial delivery of instruction in the content area and does not account for instructional strategies that may be implemented.

Grade	Language	Content
PK	Spanish	SRLA/Science/Social Studies (240)
PK	English	ERLA/Math (60)
K	Spanish	SRLA (105) Social Studies (30) Math (15)
K	English	ERLA (60) Science (30) Math (60)
1	Spanish	SRLA (105) Science (30) Math (15)
1	English	ERLA (60) Social Studies (30) Math (60)
2	Spanish	SRLA (105) Social Studies (30) Math (15)
2	English	ERLA (60) Science (30) Math (60)
3	Spanish	SRLA (105) Science (30) Math (15)
3	English	ERLA (60) Social Studies (30) Math (60)
4	Spanish	SRLA (95) Social Studies (25) Math (30)
4	English	ERLA (60) Science (30) Math (60)
5	Spanish	SRLA/ERLA*	Social Studies
5	English	Math	Science
6	Spanish	Science	Social Studies
6	English	ELRA*	Math

Limited Open Enrollment (LOE)

Unfortunately, Tomball ISD has discontinued LOE and LOE sibling transfer effective for the 2024-2025 school year not only for the TWDL program but also for the Early College and the P-Tech program, located at Tomball Star Academy. The LOE program was discontinued district-wide a few years ago. This difficult decision was made because of rapid enrollment growth across the district, and in particular, rapid enrollment growth in the Rosehill Elementary School attendance zone. Tomball ISD will honor existing LOE commitments for all students currently enrolled in any program until graduation or withdrawal. For TWDL LOE students entering seventh grade in 2026-2027, including sibling transfers, will continue through graduation in Tomball ISD. Families will receive notification about eligible transfer schools within the District during their child's sixth grade year.

Parent Commitments & Consent

Participating families are asked to commit to long-term participation, attendance, and punctuality. Families are asked to commit to the program from Kindergarten through 6th grade, comply with the TISD attendance policy, maintain a consistent record, and arrive at school and be picked up after school on time. Parents are also asked to support their students by participating in school activities that support the campus, reading daily with their child (in the language the parent is proficient in), and attending scheduled Two-Way Dual Language sessions throughout the school year.

Parent Commitment & Consent Form

Point of Entry

The only initial entry point for TWDL in Tomball ISD for English learners is Kindergarten. TWDL transfers for nonEB students from other districts are considered on a case-by-case basis. Please contact Multilingual Programs for more information at 281-357-3100.

Program Description

TWDL is a 50/50 model - 50% of the instructional minutes each day are in English and 50% of the instructional minutes are in Spanish. Non-instructional minutes (transitions, lunch, recess, etc.) are not included in the count of instructional minutes nor is time in Specials (PE, Art, and Music). Teachers are tasked with staying in the language of instruction during instructional delivery; however, students are encouraged but not required to. Strategies to shelter language and ensure access to academics in the student’s second language are embedded into daily routines and practices including, but not limited to: cross-linguistic connections, metalinguistic analysis, and bridges, preview/view/review, total physical response, etc. To comply with state law, the classroom make is as close to a 60/40 balance of native Spanish speakers and English speakers in every classroom.

Seal of Biliteracy

Tomball ISD is working towards the goal of adding a seal of biliteracy to a student's high school diploma. Dual Credit and AP Spanish courses are available at Tomball ISD igh schools, which are a component of the seal of biliteracy. Tomball also added Spanish VI to the high school course catalog in 2024-2025, which will also support the eventual goal of biliteracy. There is, however, a route to the biliteracy seal without having TWDL in junior high school. Tomball ISD will provide more information on the biliteracy seal during the 2024-2025 school year.

Siblings

Siblings of participating students will be prioritized in the lottery system. Older siblings who are not participating in the dual language program can apply for a sibling transfer. Transfers will be considered on a case-by-case basis and if space permits.

Tier I Applications

The lottery selection process will take place if there are more applicants than available spots in the program following the Tier I spring application deadline. Students with current siblings and TISD employees' children participating in the program will be prioritized. All Tomball ISD students are prioritized as Tier I or Tier II applicants, and students zoned to Rosehill Elementary do not carry any additional weight. The lottery selection process takes place at the district level and notification of results will be communicated to families. Those who are not selected in the initial lottery will go on the program waitlist by the order in which they were selected in the lottery.

Tier II Applications

All applications received after the spring submission deadline will become Tier II applications and will be added to the waitlist in the order in which they were received. Applications will be considered active on the waitlist through October of the fall semester.

Transportation

Transportation services will only be provided for K-4 students who live in the Rosehill attendance zone and grade 5 students who live in the Tomball Intermediate attendance zone. Students living outside the Rosehill Elementary or Tomball Intermediate attendance zone will need to provide their own transportation. At Rosehill Elementary, before and after school care is available at the campus.

Twins

Twins will be submitted to the selection lottery under one application. Both twins will either get a seat or both will be put on the waitlist together. Parents of twin siblings who are selected during the lottery process will have the choice of whether to put students in the same or different homerooms.

Waitlist (Tier II Applicants)

Students who are not selected in the initial lottery will be placed on a waitlist based on their lottery number and become Tier II Applicants. Applications received after the application deadline will be added to the waitlist in the order in which they were received. The district will continue to monitor the waitlist and move students into open seats through the end of October.