Hispanic Heritage Month At The Yakima School District

  • As part of our commitment to maintaining a diverse and inclusive school community that allows all students, staff, and families to feel welcome and supported, Yakima School District is participating in Heritage Month Celebrations from September 15th to October 15th.

     

    Throughout the month, our schools and students will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a focus on sharing favorite traditions of YSD's families of Hispanic heritage. 

     

    In our district, over 60% of our student population identifies as Hispanic with family roots in Mexico. Whether they have been in the United States for generations, or have recently immigrated to this country, we are so grateful for the many contributions our Hispanic families have made to our community and we are so much richer and stronger because of the diversity in Yakima. 

     

     

Our Students Share Their Favorite Hispanic Heritage Tradition



What Is Happening In Our Schools

Spanish Websites

  • Did you know that we have authentic Spanish websites for the Yakima School District (YSD) and our schools?

     

    Recognizing the need for authentic communications with bilingual and monolingual non-English audiences, YSD created 26 websites, each in the eight different languages spoken by district residents.

     

    The predominant language of comfort in Yakima is Spanish, therefore, those sites are written by a Spanish-speaker instead of auto-translated. 

     

    Visit here to experience YSD's sites in Spanish. 

Spanish Social Media Accounts

  • Twitter Español
  • Facebook Español

Dual Language Program

  • Dual language is a form of education in which students are taught literacy and content in two languages. In Yakima SD, this will be primarily English and Spanish. Students will be immersed primarily in Spanish starting in PreK/Kindergarten, then, starting in 3rd grade, half of their learning will be in both languages.

    • YSD's two-way dual language program exceeds transitional bilingual programs and English-only programs
    • Dual language programs have the power to reverse much of the negative impact of poverty on English learners' achievement
    • Only dual language programs consistently close the achievement gap between English language learners and native English speakers
    • Dual language programs significantly raise test scores for all participating students

     

    To learn more about dual language, visit our dual language webpage.

Strategic Plan Goal #4: Bilingual, Biliterate By Graduation

  • GOAL # 4 of YSD's strategic plan highlights the 2026 community commitment to "Bilingual, Biliterate by Graduation".

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    Goal #4 of the strategic plan