(Speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: In Ms.

Soyanos classroom, Spanish gives students the chance to learn in two languages.

(Speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: This year, G.H.

Reid Elementary became the second school within Richmond Public Schools to offer a dual-language program.

The program, which started at Broad Rock Elementary, is designed to help multilingual students master English while giving native English speakers the chance to become fluent in Spanish.

At Reid, where over half of the student body is Hispanic and nearly 40% are multilingual learners, leaders say Spanish already filled the halls.

But now, students feel celebrated.

CHANTRESE RAINEY-CLAYTON: I think speaking two languages is a superpower.

And I think when I got here, the perception was like, 'oh, like, we need to help them so much, they don't speak the language.'

Like, yes, they do they do need help.

But this is also such an important life skill that they're also building simultaneously.

So to be able to learn to be biliterate and bilingual it's like amazing.

KEYRIS MANZANARES: Ms.

Soyano says the DLI program also gives teachers the chance to teach in their native tongue.

And the students are already making gains.

VICTORIA PIERSON: We're already seeing that our multilingual learners and our students in our DLI programs are right on track if not outperforming their monolingual peers on early literacy assessments.

KEYRIS MANZANARES: From Fall to Spring, literacy rates for Broad Rock's K through 2nd grade students, including those in the dual-language program, improved by 27 points, bringing the on-grade level reading rate to 71%.

(Speaking Spanish) KEYRIS MANZANARES: Despite the programs positive results, district-wide multilingual student enrollment has dipped attributed to fears related to the Trump Administrations immigration policies.

Administrators continue to stress Richmonds schools are safe places.

For VPM News, Keryis Manzanares.