César Chávez Elementary

Tuesday, February 7, 6:00-7:30 p.m. MPR

This information night is offered for currently enrolled CCE enrolled families, DJUSD TK enrolled families, and incoming Kinder age families interested in enrolling their child in the 2023-2024 CCE Kindergarten Program. You will meet the Kindergarten Teachers, Multilingual Specialist and Principal deliver a presentation with information about our 7-year Spanish Immersion K-6 program and how to enroll your child.

Any student eligible to attend DJUSD may register in the Spanish Language Immersion Program at César Chávez Elementary (CCE), regardless of language background. Interested families will complete the DJUSD Online Pre-Enrollment Form and attend Kindergarten registration at either César Chávez Elementary (SI) or Marguerite Montgomery (TWBI) in March. Families must choose one or the other and cannot register for both.

Kindergarten students are chosen by lottery system. If there is space, students in grades first through sixth must go through an assessment process conducted at the school site. Additional information can be found here or by contacting César Chávez Elementary .

If a student is not placed in SI or TWBI, District Office staff will notify the parents and transfer the student’s registration to their neighborhood school.

2023-24 Kindergarten Information Night
Join us for a presentation, meet CCE principal, teachers and staff for an introduction to Spanish Immersion, Home Language Survey and for a 30 minute Q&A.

Tuesday, February 7, 6:00-7:30 p.m. MPR

Home Language Survey
Initial Registration at a Public School in California
Parents registering students for the first time in a public school in California will need to complete a home language survey. The home language survey is a record that will stay with each student on the state database, CALPADS (California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System). Therefore, it should only be completed once for each student. When students transfer from other districts, the new district pulls students’ prior data from CALPADS.
Children who attend state preschool, will still need to complete the home language survey when they begin transitional kindergarten (TK), or kindergarten for the first time.

Home Language Survey (EC 52164.1a)

The home language survey asks four questions:

What language did the student learn when he/she first began to speak?
What language does the student speak most at home?
What language is most often spoken to the student by the parents/guardians?
What language is most often spoken by adults at home?

DJUSD Required Registration Documents.

Find more information here.

Spanish Immersion (SI) and Two Way Bilingual Immersion (TWBI) Programs Placement Process

Interested families will complete Online Pre-Enrollment and attend Kindergarten registration at either César Chávez (SI) or Marguerite Montgomery (TWBI) on Tuesday, February 7, 6:00-7:30 p.m. CCE MPR   Families must choose one or the other and cannot register for both. If a student is not placed in SI or TWBI, District Office staff will notify the parents and transfer the student’s registration to their neighborhood school.

Each site will conduct their own placement process. At this time, there are three classes (72 seats) for kindergarten at César Chávez and three classes (72 seats) at Marguerite Montgomery. Once admitted to the program of choice, students in the program have first priority to continue in the program at that school in subsequent grades. If a family removes their student for any reason, placement back in the program cannot be guaranteed due to the classes being full at that grade level, and/or the possibility that the student’s Spanish is no longer at grade level.

Spanish Immersion (SI) Program Participation and Placement Process at César Chávez
Any student eligible to attend DJUSD register in the SI at César Chávez Elementary School, regardless of language background since students of varying abilities and needs contribute to the diversity of the community. Parents should understand that becoming bilingual (exhibiting cognitive, academic and linguistic benefits of immersion) takes approximately seven years in an intense learning environment. It is therefore desirable for students to participate through the sixth grade. Family involvement is a major factor in student success. DJUSD offers Immersion coursework at Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High School, and an Immersion Student Spanish 3 class at Harper Junior High School, t o a l l o w SI or TWBI Program s t u d e n t s to continue with Spanish instruction in junior high school. Priority for kindergarten enrollment will occur in the following order:
1. Davis resident siblings of students currently enrolled at César Chávez and Davis resident primary language Spanish speakers are placed first. Priority is granted during registration only.
2. All remaining students who have completed the registration process are included in a lottery and placed in the remaining spaces based on the lottery results.
3. For those not placed during the lottery, a wait list is generated based on the lottery numbers. When spaces become available,students will be selected in order of the lottery list and offered a seat in the program.
4. Those registering after the lottery has taken place will be placed at the end of the waiting list in the order the registrations are received (by date).
5. The wait list will be used to fill open spaces in kindergarten until the November Parent-Teacher Conferences.
6. Primary language Spanish speakers or students from another immersion program may be considered for enrollment in K-6 based on space availability at the requested grade level and after passing a Spanish language proficiency assessment administered by Chavez staff.

Students who do not live in Davis can apply for the program through the Interdistrict Transfer process. These families will be offered a space only when the Davis resident waiting list is exhausted. For example, if a non-Davis resident was placed on the waiting list in September and a Davis resident was placed on the waiting list in December, the Davis resident has priority. Once a student from outside DJUSD is placed, they cannot be removed from that placement to make room for January 2020 another student. If a student is not selected in the lottery, District Office enrollment staff will contact the parents and transfer the student’s registration to their neighborhood school. If a space becomes available and the family accepts a space at Chávez, the office will request enrollment documents from the neighborhood school.

Two Way Bilingual Immersion (TWBI) Program Participation and Placement Process at Montgomery
Any students in kinder or first grade eligible to attend Davis public schools may register in the TWBI Program at Montgomery, regardless of language background. Parents should understand that becoming bilingual (exhibiting cognitive, academic and linguistic benefits of immersion) takes approximately seven years in an intense learning environment. DJUSD offers Immersion coursework at Emerson Junior High School, and an Immersion Student Spanish 3 class at Harper Junior High School, so students that participate in SI or TWBI Program may choose to continue with Spanish instruction in junior high school.

The goal of any two-way or dual immersion program is to have a balance of native Spanish and native English speakers so that students, as well as teachers, will serve as language models for each other. While keeping the goal of language balance in mind, priority for Kindergarten enrollment in the TWBI Program will occur in the following order:
1. Siblings of students already enrolled in TWBI are placed first.
2. Primary Language Spanish speakers are placed next with students residing in the Montgomery attendance area having priority. Spanish speakers will be accepted until up to half of the enrollment spaces are filled (36 total). If there are more Spanish speaking applicants than spots a lottery will be held.
3. Thirty-six spaces are available for Primary Language English students. Students residing in the Montgomery attendance area who have completed the registration process will have priority. If there are more Montgomery attendance area students who have applied than there are spots a lottery will be held and students will be placed using lottery results.
4. All remaining students residing in the DJUSD attendance area who have completed the registration process shall be included in a separate lottery and placed in the remaining spaces based on the lottery results.
5. For those not placed during the lottery, a wait list is generated based on the lottery numbers. When spaces become available, students will be selected in order of the lottery list and keeping to the 50% English-Spanish language model. It is important to note that language balance in the program takes precedence over the lottery order.
6. Those registering after the lottery has taken place will be placed at the end of the waiting list in the order the registrations are received (by date).
7. The wait list will be maintained and used in first grade if spaces become available. School staff will call families to confirm if they would like to stay on the waitlist.
8. Placement after first grade will be based on language proficiency assessments, language balance and school of residence with Marguerite Montgomery residents having priority.

Students who do not live in Davis can apply for the program through the Interdistrict Transfer process. These families will be offered a space only when the Davis resident waiting list is exhausted. (with the exception of the need for language balance in the program). For example, if a non- Davis resident was placed on the waiting list in September and a Davis resident was placed on the waiting list in December, the Davis resident has priority. Once a student from outside DJUSD is placed, they cannot be removed from that placement to make room for another student.

While César Chávez Elementary is a wonderful place, and Spanish Immersion is a great linguistic and cultural opportunity, it is not always the right fit for all students. Learn more about Choice Programs in our district.

Parents should understand that becoming bilingual (exhibiting cognitive, academic and linguistic benefits of immersion) takes approximately seven years in an intense learning environment. It is therefore desirable for students to participate through at least the sixth grade.

Kindergarten and First grade have 100% Spanish instruction,
Second grade is 90% Spanish and 10% English,
Third grade is 80% Spanish and 20% English,
Fourth grade is 75 % Spanish and 25% English, and
Fifth and Sixth grades grades are 70% Spanish and 30% English.