More than 140 educators from across the Socorro Independent School District gathered at the District Service Center on Sept. 28 for the district's inaugural La Cosechita Dual Language Conference, aimed at strengthening dual language instruction and student success in English and Spanish.
Teachers, instructional coaches and administrators participated in hands-on learning activities focused on implementing dual language programs across 30 campuses, said Joanne Anguiano, director of bilingual education. The training was designed for Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4 and kindergarten educators as part of SISD’s updated districtwide Dual Language program launched in the 2026-27 school year.
"This is our first La Cosechita conference here at SISD," Anguiano said. “The goal of La Cosechita is to provide our participants with current research, best practices and hands-on learning activities that are designed to promote and enhance the effectiveness of dual language so that they're able to take it back into the classroom and implement it to support both our English and Spanish learners.”
Educators explored topics such as translanguaging, bridging strategies, phonetics, cognates and cross-linguistic connections.
“Our dual language students will benefit from this because it's going to improve the quality, consistency and cultural responsiveness of instruction in the classroom," Anguiano said. “More than anything, we want to make sure that our teachers become very knowledgeable about the importance of dual language, their best practices, their practical strategies and that they're able to implement it.”
Daniela Chavarria, a kindergarten dual language teacher at Hueco Elementary School, is in her second year of teaching. She attended the conference eager to expand her knowledge and enhance her teaching skills to better serve her students.
Chavarria's passion for dual language education stems from her own experience as a student at Dr. Sue A. Shook Elementary School. After moving from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso at eight years old, she remembers the challenges of learning English and adapting to a new environment.
“I was very introverted coming here. So little by little, with my teachers, they started helping me gain that knowledge in the English language,” Chavarria said. “I wanted to give that back to the community, especially coming back to Socorro where I grew up."
The conference featured a keynote presentation by Dr. Silvia Dorta-Duque de Reyes, a nationally recognized biliteracy consultant and author. She shared insights on cross-linguistic connections and biliteracy development.
“She was so innovative,” Chavarria said. “She was full of energy, showing us that both languages are such a skill to have. And it's almost like a superpower.”
Christina Betancourt, a kindergarten dual language teacher at Purple Heart Elementary, has been teaching for 17 years. She emphasized that dual language education plays a vital role in preparing students for the future.
“Dual language is super important,” Betancourt said. "We live in a world where knowing more than one language is important. Here on the border, of course, it's English and Spanish, but in other places, it could be French, it could be Portuguese, it could be any other language.”