Why immersion

Immersion works for students, families want it, and it's good for the whole county. Here's the case, from MCPS's own data and the census.

Good for the whole county

Immersion is more than a school program. It reflects who lives in Montgomery County, and it turns families from different backgrounds into one community.

  • 42.5%of county residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home. Spanish is the most common.
  • 1 in 3county residents was born in another country, most often in Latin America, Asia or Africa.
  • 1 in 5 or moreimmersion parents who answered MCPS's survey speak the program's language at home: 28% in Spanish, 21% in French and 20% in Chinese.

It reflects our county

Spanish, French and Chinese connect our schools to the places many of our neighbors come from, across Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean and Asia. MCPS's own evaluation names promoting racial and ethnic diversity as one of the programs' original goals.

It brings families together

Children whose families speak the language at home learn alongside children hearing it for the first time. Seats are filled by lottery from a wide area, so families from different neighborhoods meet, and a class can stay together from kindergarten into middle school. Parents and staff describe tight-knit school communities, and events like Lunar New Year celebrations and the Festival Francophone draw in the wider community.

It draws families to MCPS

Every year more families apply than there are seats, and waitlists are long. For many of our families, immersion is part of why we chose MCPS. Staff say former students keep in touch and keep studying the language after they graduate.

Celebrating diversity is a start. Immersion goes further: it gives children from different backgrounds a shared language and years of shared experience, and it builds bonds between their families.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019–2023 American Community Survey (PDF) · MCPS 2025 immersion evaluation (PDF)

What MCPS's own evaluation found

In December 2025 MCPS's Office of Shared Accountability published an evaluation of its seven elementary immersion programs, using 2024–25 data, staff interviews and surveys of 612 parents.

  • 95% and 93%of French and Spanish immersion parents who responded were satisfied with the program.
  • As well or betterImmersion students performed as well as or better than matched peers. In grades 3 and 5 they outperformed the district in English literacy and math.
  • 1,541 studentswere enrolled in elementary immersion in 2024–25, and waitlists showed high demand.
  • $60,500in program-specific costs for 2024–25: $50,000 for materials and $10,500 for team leader stipends. Transportation isn't included.

What MCPS agreed to do

MCPS concurred with all six recommendations. When it responded, none had been carried out yet.

MCPS's commitments from its December 2025 response, with target dates
CommitmentTarget date
Add a central-office immersion staff member and targeted training
Expand the immersion team leader role
Test students' progress in the immersion language
Provide a French language arts curriculum and timely translated materials
Review enrollment, continuation and program goals
Evaluate middle school immersion and biliteracy pathways

The full evaluation and MCPS's response are listed under Sources.

Programs this covers

These are the schools MCPS lists on its immersion page. Middle school placement is one of the questions families most need answered in writing.

Immersion schools by language
LanguageElementaryMiddle, as listed by MCPS
FrançaisMaryvale, Sligo CreekGaithersburg, Silver Spring International
EspañolBurnt Mills, Rock Creek Forest, William T. PageGaithersburg, Lakelands Park, Newport Mill, Odessa Shannon, Silver Spring International, Westland, White Oak
中文Bayard Rustin, PotomacHerbert Hoover