Today’s preschool populations offer glimpses of tomorrow’s demographics. Latino children make up the most rapidly growing racial and ethnic population in the U.S. Of the children under age five, 4.2 million or 21 percent are Hispanic, and they are statistically enrolled in preschool at lower rates than their peers (PEW, 2016). The academic achievement gap between English learners (EL) and monolingual learners begins before kindergarten and persists during early schooling. However, high-quality bilingual early childhood instruction that accounts for social, cognitive, emotional and communicative skills of ELs can help close or eliminate this gap (Waldfogel, 2012).
For Catholic schools, preschools serve as critical entryways, providing pipelines for future enrollment and important levers for child and family formation. Early childhood programming is a strategically significant component of the Catholic educational enterprise and deserves attention (Frabutt & Waldron, 2013). There is a dearth of research for Catholic preschools, specifically around efforts to support linguistically diverse students. For families who speak a language other than English, access to quality bilingual, multicultural preschool programs is critical. School readiness and success for children who are dual or multi-lingual learners is tied to mastery of their home language (Zelasko & Antunez, 2000).
Recognizing the manifold advantages of bilingual preschool education, our Advancing Latino and Multilingual Achievement through Catholic Education (ALMA) team at the University of Notre Dame piloted the Early Childhood Language Intensive Program (ECLIP) in the fall of 2021, in close partnership with the Archdiocese of Chicago. Over the past four years, we have supported 62 early childhood classrooms, and our journey has helped us reimagine bilingual development and its benefits for English learners, as well as students learning Spanish.
As educators of multilingual teachers and learners, it is essential to provide curricular resources to help students—both English speakers and Spanish speakers—to develop foundational literacy skills in Spanish. Research indicates that learning foundational phonics and reading skills in Spanish is a helpful bridge to English literacy. Research also indicates that foundational literacy skills transfer between languages (Colorín Colorado, 2015; Meyer, 2010), and our early program results suggest that by learning to read in English and Spanish simultaneously, preschoolers benefit immensely. Learning to read in Spanish is important for its own sake, affirming and sustaining culture and language for Latino students (Hughes, 2024). Additionally, introducing students from other backgrounds to Spanish at a young age increases their likelihood of success (Meyer, 2010). Fostering strong Spanish literacy skills positively impacts students’ English literacy (Helios, 2020; NYSED, 2025). Investing in multilingual preschools for students identified as ELs can produce cost-saving academic gains for schools by reducing the need for future intervention (Nascimiento, 2016).
Our team surveyed ECLIP schools and participants spoke to the value of culturally sustaining education, increased Latino representation and spiritual growth:
A preschool teacher noted: “This [bilingual] program gave me the confidence to grow from an aide into a teaching role. It was a very powerful experience for me, inviting me to share my language, culture and stories with children at a very young age when their brains are primed to absorb language.”
A principal witnessed tangible spiritual and cultural impacts on the school community: “[The] program helped unleash a wellspring of energy in our entire school, not just our preschool . . . for the first time ever, we celebrated a bilingual school Mass.”
An archdiocesan leader saw benefits of Latino community and enrollment: “When principals see for themselves how Latino engagement results in enrollment gains and adds vibrancy to the school community, it builds buy-in. Schools experience for themselves how growth in Latino students serves as a pathway to sustainability and transformation. We need more efforts like these across the country.”
In designing and implementing bilingual preschools, we used four high-leverage strategies. First, we fostered students’ early literacy skills in Spanish. Our approach included rigorous daily phonemic awareness, phonics and vocabulary instruction. Preschool teachers modeled fluency and comprehension by reading aloud in Spanish.
Second, by modeling translanguaging and encouraging students to notice linguistic similarities and differences, teachers helped students build neural pathways between both languages.
Third, authentic faith activities augmented language development: daily prayer, praise songs and liturgical celebrations—Our Lady of Guadalupe, Las Posadas and more. These religious and cultural celebrations provided blessings for the entire school community.
Finally, promoting increased intercultural awareness through Latin American songs and traditional games, as well as celebrating cultural holidays such as Dia de los Muertos and Día del Niño, created pathways for preschoolers to share and learn about cultures.
Based upon our experiences implementing bilingual preschools, we want to share three key insights as you consider how to help your youngest learners thrive.
Programming that draws upon the Science of Reading across both languages produces gains in early literacy skills. Robust attention to phonemic awareness and phonics, as well as vocabulary development, is key. Most investments in literacy transfer across languages, especially since 30-40 percent of words in English and Spanish are cognates (Meyer, 2010). Take time to develop teachers’ early literacy instructional skills, with particular attention to comparative linguistics. Teachers should recognize that in English we decode by identifying and blending sounds, whereas in Spanish, we do so by blending syllables.
Multilingual early childhood education has powerful empowerment and representation effects for staff. You can empower Spanish-speaking teachers in a grow-your-own (GYO) program, increase Latino representation among your staff and encourage school masses to better reflect the faith and cultural traditions of your families of Latin American heritage.
We can attest to the fact that early investment in preschool pays off. By implementing multilingual preschools, you are likely to experience increased enrollment, engage Latino families by inviting them into school and parish life and promote student achievement across both languages.
Implementing early childhood bilingual programming is developmentally appropriate, affordable, research-based intervention with numerous benefits for Catholic schools. As our schools seek to better meet the needs of our youngest learners, implementing multilingual programming in schools with a growing Latino population can be a powerful approach.
Elisa Zwier Dralle, Ph.D.is the dual language coordinator for the University of Notre Dame Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE).edralle@nd.edu
Katy Lichon, Ph.D.is the director of Advancing Latino and Multilingual Achievement through Catholic Education (ALMA) Initiative, assistant teaching professor at the University of Notre Dame Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Teaching Fellows.kwalter5@nd.edu
Clare Roach, M.Ed.is the the associate learning director of the Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC) at the University of Notre Dame.croach1@nd.edu