Elementary - West Coulee Station Elementary School
Click on the link below to learn more about the Spanish Bilingual Program at West Coulee Station Elementary School:
Middle School - G.S. Lakie Middle School
Click on the link below to learn more about the Spanish Bilingual Program at G.S. Lakie Middle School:
Spanish Bilingual Program Video
Spanish Bilingual Communication - June, 2025
We are incredibly proud of the Spanish Bilingual program that has grown and flourished over the last eight years. The quality and success of the program is closely connected to the excellent, dedicated staff and commitment by the parents who have chosen this educational option for their children. Lethbridge School Division is committed to growing the program for the 2026/2027 school year to Grade 9 and beyond to the high school level for the 2027/2028 school year.
We recognize that as programs are built and grow, sustainability of a program in an educational system needs to be considered. Sustainability and quality of a program in an educational system strongly depends upon level of interest from the community (student enrollment) and resources available to provide robust programming (funding/staffing, etc).
In 2017, Lethbridge School Division initiated a Spanish Bilingual Program at Coalbanks Elementary School in Kindergarten and Grade 1. We are proud of the interest and growth this program has experienced in the eight years it has operated. We now have our first group of Grade 1s in 2017 moving into Grade 9. Unfortunately, we did not have sufficient interest from this cohort to explore Spanish Bilingual Programming in Grade 9 at Chinook this year. One student from this cohort articulated interest in exploring Spanish language opportunities in Grade 9 at Chinook for the 2025/2026 school year. It is anticipated that the 2026/2027 school year will have more expressed interest for Grade 9 at Chinook.
As we continue to grow the Spanish Bilingual Program, and the cohort sizes get larger, it is Chinook High School’s intention to provide Spanish Bilingual Programming to the upcoming Grade 9 cohort in the 2026/2027 school year, if there are sustainable numbers.
According to the Guide to Language programming for administrators, Grade 9 programming is recommended to include 35 per cent of the target language for Bilingual programming. The K-5 the target percentage is 40-50 per cent, and as we progress through the divisions, there is a decrease of the target language as bilingual mastery has occurred. As we explore grade 10-12 programming and balance articulated interest/resources, along with Alberta Education guidelines, we aspire to offer a level of Bilingual programming that compares to high schools that offer Spanish Bilingual programming around the province (approximately 25 per cent for grade 10-12).
In communication with Chinook, we understand the school forwarded a communication to current parents of Grade 7 Spanish Bilingual students to inform them of the expression of interest process they will be following for the 2025/2026 school year. This communication happened on June 11, 2025. It is Chinook’s intention to send out a survey in October of 2025 to parents of Grade 8 Spanish Bilingual Program students to determine an expression of interest and share potential programming options and for parents to share feedback. Further, similar to the Coalbanks/G.S. Lakie transition, Chinook anticipates making visits to G.S. Lakie Spanish Bilingual Program in the fall and connecting with parents and students as planning evolves, so collaboration can occur.