In a classroom at Harding Primary School, language is not treated as a hurdle to clear or something to outgrow. It is honored, practiced, and expanded—spoken, written, and lived in two forms every day. For Patty Arteaga and Blanca Godina, dual language instruction is a commitment to identity, culture, and possibility.

Both women grew up in Monmouth. Both are first-generation daughters of immigrants from Jalisco, Mexico. In a twist that still makes them smile, their families came from the same ranch—so close that their fathers were friends long before Patty and Blanca would one day teach side by side.

Blanca, a 2002 Monmouth-Roseville graduate, has been teaching since 2009. Her path took her from Monmouth to Rio Rancho, New Mexico, where she attended New Mexico Highlands University and taught kindergarten in a dual language setting before returning home. She now teaches third grade. Blanca is also teaching herself French, Italian, German, and American Sign Language. It's just a good thing to be able to communicate with anyone, she says.

Patty is in her first year teaching second grade. A 2021 Monmouth-Roseville graduate, she returned to serve the community that raised her. A planner by nature—if something goes wrong in my plan, I freak out—she approached teaching cautiously but now embraces it fully. The oldest of four siblings, she has a younger sister in her class who stays after school to help. Even on difficult days, her sister says she wants to be a teacher when she grows up, just like her.

Their classrooms are small—14 students each—within grade levels of more than 100. Students learn content in both Spanish and English, developing literacy, grammar, and comprehension across two linguistic systems. It is, as Patty explains, double the work. Students write narratives in English, then write them again in Spanish.

On the first day of class, Blanca sets the tone clearly—and deliberately—in Spanish:

“Bienvenidos a tercer grado. Vamos a usar nuestros dos idiomas, español e inglés. Vamos a crecer nuestras habilidades en los dos idiomas y trabajar juntos para alcanzar nuestras metas.”

The room responds in different ways—some students catching every word, others leaning forward, still learning—but the message lands.

When asked to share that same idea in English, Patty doesn't offer a literal translation. She shares the meaning: Students are being welcomed into a space where both languages matter. They will use English and Spanish every day, growing their skills in each, and the goal is learning how language helps them reach their goals.

Together, the two messages form a single philosophy. Blanca names it directly: the goal is for students to be bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural. Language is inseparable from culture. It carries heritage, memory, and belonging. Teaching students to maintain and strengthen their native language while mastering a second one affirms who they are rather than asking them to leave part of themselves behind.

For Patty, that affirmation is deeply personal. She attended Immaculate Conception School through eighth grade, where dual language programming was not available. Becoming a dual language teacher allows her to give students something she did not have—permission to hold both languages proudly and fully.

Blanca sees the work through a longer lens. She remembers when students would get in trouble for trying to speak Spanish to a newcomer friend. That reality shaped her resolve. Today, she tells students that bilingualism is an asset. She encourages them to correct people who mispronounce their names and to take pride in where they come from. Don't shrink yourself, she tells them.

That message matters, especially in uncertain times. Blanca believes the response to fear or exclusion is affirmation. Students have the right to an education that values their language—whatever that language may be.

Her commitment is also personal. Her father, José Godina, came to the United States from Jalisco at 18 and lived his life here. He was deeply proud of her bilingualism and her work as a teacher. Since his passing, she honors him by doing the work with care and conviction.

In their classrooms, students are working harder than they may yet realize. They are building skills that will open doors later—to careers, connections, and confidence. And they are doing it in two languages.