FONTANA, CA – Dolores Huerta International Academy (DHIA) has earned the 2023 Seal of Excellence School Award from the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE), celebrating its commitment to preparing students for college and careers through its popular dual-language immersion (DLI) program.

DHIA is one of few K-6 full DLI and International Baccalaureate (IB) authorized schools in the country. The Seal of Excellence is one of CABE’s highest awards and recognizes schools for their vision of biliteracy, multicultural competency and commitment toward educational equality for all. DHIA will be honored at the CABE 2023 Seal of Excellence Banquet on Friday, March 24.

DHIA, which opened its doors in 2016 as the District’s first DLI school, serves as a globally focused, multilingual educational pathway for elementary school students, offering both Spanish/English DLI and the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP).

“The Dolores Huerta International Academy team works tirelessly to care for our students,” DHIA Principal Sandra Loudermilk said. “This accomplishment is a direct reflection of our entire staff’s dedication to preparing our students not only for school but for life through our dual-language immersion and IB PYP program.”

Through DLI, DHIA strives to ensure students meet and exceed state standards in core subjects by increasing their proficiency and strategic thinking, fostering college and career readiness, and promoting multilingualism and multiculturalism. The PYP emphasizes learning through inquiry and reflection, and stresses the character-strong attributes of appreciation, cooperation and creativity, helping students develop foundational skills that are applied throughout the District’s K-12 continuum of IB programs.

Dual-language classrooms at DHIA are strategically mixed with native English and Spanish speakers, with kindergarten to first graders receiving 90 percent of their instruction in Spanish and 10 percent in English. The amount of Spanish instruction is decreased by 10 percent each school year until an even balance of English and Spanish is attained in fifth and sixth grade.

English language learners receive instructional support throughout their entire school day at DHIA. Teachers use data from their students’ English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) to tailor their English language development lessons and supports.

In addition to fostering multilingualism and multiliteracy – and providing a rigorous IB education – DHIA has also developed a robust social-emotional support program and cultivated a positive campus culture. Those efforts have earned DHIA a platinum Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports implementation award for two years in a row.

“This is a tremendous honor for Dolores Huerta International Academy and the District,” Fontana Unified Superintendent Miki R. Inbody said. “The teachers, staff and administrators have built a fantastic educational program at DHIA, and this award is a well-deserved recognition of their efforts to empower every student on campus to achieve their goals.”

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FUSD_DHIA_CABE: Dolores Huerta International Academy (DHIA) has received 2023 Seal of Excellence School Award from the California Association for Bilingual Education. As one of the few K-6 full DLI and International Baccalaureate (IB) authorized schools in the country, DHIA aims to foster multilingualism and multiculturalism, encourage learning through inquiry and reflection, and prepare students for college and career at an early age.