Dual Language Elementary School Sees Enrollment Sky Rocket In 2nd Year

DEER PARK & CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — Enrollment at the first dual-language elementary school run by the Catholic Church on Long Island increased by 30 percent as it enters its second year, Newsday said.

Our Lady of Guadalupe school, which has campuses in Central Islip and Deer Park, saw its enrollment grow from 385 to 501 between September 2021, when they first opened, and September 2022, Newsday said.

According to its website, the dual-language immersion program started in its nursery and pre-kindergarten classrooms, and planned to expand to kindergarten this fall.

The program intends to start "children on the path to becoming bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural in English and Spanish. "

The enrollment increase was the most dramatic jump in a system that, after years of sharp declines, is doing relatively well, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Between the 2020-21 and the 2021-22 academic years, enrollment rose from 11,626 to 11,644, they said.