Spanish Immersion Program Starting At 2nd Harford Co. Elementary School

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A Bel Air elementary school will become the next Harford County elementary school to offers its students a Spanish immersion program thanks to a $500K grant awarded to Harford County Public Schools.

The U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity's Teaching through Immersion in Elementary Schools program will be rolled out at Red Pump Elementary School. The grant will establish the program at the school as a way to continue "supporting military-connected students and advancing early world language education."

DoDEA’s grant program helps improve educational outcomes, narrow achievement gaps and ensure continuity of education for highly transient, military-connected students. Since 2009, DoDEA has awarded 709 grants to nearly 130 school districts in 39 states and Washington, D.C., totaling more than $830 million.

HCPS was one of just 54 recipients of a fiscal year 2023 DoDEA grant and participates in DoDEA’s World Language Advancement and Readiness Program, which supports the establishment and expansion of world language programming in districts where at least 10% of students are military-connected and an active JROTC program is present. WLARP advances early language learning to strengthen national security and global competitiveness.

• First cohort of 36 kindergarten students has advanced to first grade
• Second cohort of 42 kindergarten students began in the 2025–2026 school year
• 100% of TIES students met or exceeded end-of-year DIBELS benchmarks in kindergarten with 72% exceeding and 28% meeting goals

“Early immersion builds the foundation for bilingualism, cultural competence and global readiness,” said Dr. Sean Bulson, superintendent of Harford County Public Schools. “The remarkable success of our students and families at Emmorton Elementary underscores the power of early language education. We are grateful for DoDEA’s continued investment and excited to offer the TIES program to families at Red Pump Elementary.”