Designing and Implementing Two-Way Bilingual Programs: A Step-by-Step Guide for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents

"This book is certain to be an indispensable guide to planning and practice in dual language schools. It is practical, down-to-earth, and firmly based in broad experience and research."
Robert Slavin, Co-Director
Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk
Johns Hopkins University

"Calderón and Minaya-Rowe have done an excellent job of presenting relevant research along with practical examples and suggestions, all in a highly readable and user-friendly format. This volume is an indispensable tool for teachers, administrators, and parents involved with dual language programs."
Liz Howard, Research Associate
Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC

"This book is an excellent resource for educators interested in developing bilingual capacity in American school children."
Diane August, Director
National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth

"A comprehensive compendium of dual language program implementation strategies and examples. An indispensable how-to book for school level administrators, teacher trainers, teachers, and parents."
Ana Maria Olezza, Director of Bilingual Programs
Hartford Public Schools, Connecticut

"This practical book can be used as a tool to transform schools into dual-language programs that focus on the improvement of school performance and language enrichment. It is written in a very pragmatic style and provides insights and frameworks supporting a school or district′s systemic reform."
Anthony Amato, Superintendent
Hartford Public Schools, Connecticut

Use dual-language instruction to promote literacy in two languages!

How can you provide a bilingual learning experience that includes high levels of achievement for both English-language learners and English-dominant students? What can you do to include all students in the adventure of learning a new language? Two-way bilingual education helps children maintain their cultural language as well as learn a new language―an invaluable skill in an increasingly integrated world.

Designing and Implementing Two-Way Bilingual Programs provides essential elements to help your students gain literacy in two languages, increase cross-cultural understanding, and meet high levels of achievement in all core academic areas.

This excellent resource provides school administrators, teachers, and parents with the basic knowledge necessary for planning and implementing an effective two-way bilingual program by:

• Promoting native-language literacy skills and balanced bilingualism
• Providing a standards-based education while promoting proficiency in two languages
• Helping all students gain cognitive and linguistic benefits from academic tasks that call for creativity and problem solving

This indispensable handbook also includes strategies for building learning communities for dual-language teachers, professional development plans that meet the specific needs of dual-language programs, and tips for involving parents.

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Dr. Margarita Espino Calderón, born and raised in Juárez, is a Professor Emerita/Senior Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University. Her research and development projects have been funded by the US Department of Education, National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Labor, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, and various State Offices of Education.

One of her empirical studies “The Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (BCIRC)” is featured in the What Works Clearinghouse. The Carnegie Corporation of New York funded her five-year study to develop Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners (ExC-ELL) to train math, science, social studies, language arts, and ESL teachers on integrating language, reading, and content in core content middle and high school classrooms. With a Title III National Professional Development grant, she implemented “A Whole-School Approach to Professional Development with ExC-ELL” in Loudoun County, VA. She replicated this approach in 29 schools in TX and NC. She served on the National Literacy Panel for Language Minority Children and Youth, the Carnegie Corporation of New York Panel on English Language Adolescent Literacy Panel, among other panels and national committees. She has over 100 publications on language, literacy, and professional development.
In 2025, Margarita was inducted into the Multilingual Education Hall of Fame. 

Liliana Minaya-Rowe is bilingual training coordinator at the Hartford Public Schools, where she works in professional development plans and practices for two-way immersion, bilingual, and ESL programs; effective first and second language instruction; teachers’ learning communities; and parent/family involvement practices. Minaya-Rowe is also professor emeritus of the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Her research interests, publications, and teaching include teacher education, literacy, bilingual program development and implementation, and discourse analysis of bilinguals. She holds a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and a Ph.D. in Education. Minaya-Rowe’s 80+ publications include journal articles, books, chapters, teacher’s manuals, and guidebooks.