The San Marcos CISD board of trustees received a presentation from Benjamin Grijalva, the district’s bilingual program coordinator, on potential changes to the program on Monday night. Currently, 33 percent of SMCISD kindergarten students who are learning English as a second language are reading below grade level, while 67 percent of students in that group are reading at grade level, according to district research. By the time students enter fifth grade, 92 percent are reading below grade level, and only 8 percent are reading at grade level. Among the recommendations included in Grijalva’s presentation were the consolidation of the district’s bilingual classes to two campuses and implementation of a two-way dual-language program that would begin in kindergarten. Two-way dual-language programs teach native-Spanish speakers English and native-English speakers Spanish. “Students who are in these types of programs will outperform other students, perhaps not at the onset, but when you’re looking at [longitudinally] … the best performance you capture from these students is in middle school and high school,” Grijalva said. “What you really gather … is much greater results in middle school and high school when they stay in the program.” Trustee John McGlothlin asked that research indicating benefits of bilingual programs be presented to the board at a future meeting. Parents would have the ability to opt their children into the two-way dual-language program. Trustee Kathy Hansen asked if the changes would necessitate the hiring of new bilingual teachers. Superintendent of Human Resources Willie Watson said some of the district’s bilingual classes are under capacity currently. Implementing the proposed changes to the program would not necessitate the immediate hiring of additional bilingual teachers, Watson said. Grijalva’s presentation also recommended the district consider increasing the stipend for bilingual teachers from $2,500 per year to $4,000 per year. A $1,000 per year stipend for teachers teaching English as a second language was also proposed. Grijalva also recommended professional development for bilingual teachers and campus leaders.