Middle School 6-8

DLS Middle School Model

The DLS middle school is modeled to continue our goal of bilingualism and bi-literacy through the eighth grade.  In the middle school years, DLS is a 50/50 immersion model.  Fifty percent of instruction is taught in the target language and the other fifty percent is taught in English.

Click here to view the Middle School Back to School Night presentation.

Click here to read why language immersion is critical in the middle school years.

Click here to visit our middle school Google site, which has videos from teachers discussing the middle school curriculum and experience.

Key Principles of the DLS Middle School

  • Transfer students must meet target language grade level requirements to enter DLS in the middle school.

  • Emphasis on inquiry/project-based learning.

  • Team teaching approach with content-certified teachers for each subject area.

  • Purposeful focus on vocabulary and social use of the target language.

  • Students are taught three content areas in their target language.

In the DLS middle school program, students study English language arts, target language arts, social studies, science, mathematics, the arts (visual arts, music, theatre), technology, and physical education.  One of our goals is to equip students with the communication, linguistic, and analytical skills that can be adapted to interdisciplinary units with other core subjects: mathematics, social studies, and science.  We believe in academic rigor in our target languages (Mandarin and Spanish) to prepare students for success in an increasingly global community.  Technology is also integrated in both the target language and English learning content.

Language Use During a Typical Academic Day

DLS is a 50/50 language immersion model during Middle School.  This means that 50% of the instructional day is taught in the target language (Mandarin or Spanish), and 50% of the instructional day is taught in English. 

Target Language Instruction (Mandarin or Spanish):

  • Language Arts

  • Mathematics

  • Social Studies

English Language Instruction:

  • English Language Arts

  • Science

  • Electives

AP Exam

Before continuing from DLS, 8th grade students are eligible to take the AP Exam. In the 2019-20 School Year our continuing 8th graders had outstanding results in the AP Spanish Language & Culture and AP Chinese Language & Culture exams by College Board. Almost 70% of students in Chinese and 95% of students in Spanish passed the test. In the 2019-20 School Year, for the first time, over 15% of students in both programs scored a 5 (the highest score possible, worth 12 credits in some universities). 

For questions about Middle School (Gilpin Campus, grades 5-8) at DLS, please contact:

Principal: Christine Loven-Santos - christine@denverlanguageschool.org

Assistant Principal - Kendra Lofland - kendra@denverlanguageschool.org