Canyons School District is taking steps to maintain strong and sustainable Dual-Language Immersion programs in the face of declining enrollment while inviting families to give input on what those programs could look like in the future.

In preparation for the upcoming application window for elementary-level DLI programs, the District has proposed enrollment targets and timelines for determining whether schools have sufficient enrollment to support two first-grade DLI classes or whether a one-class cohort may be necessary.

“The goal with these benchmarks is to be transparent and help families know what to expect well before the start of a new school year,” said Canyons Superintendent Dr. McKay Robinson. “As a District, we are absolutely committed to preserving this program. These enrollment targets are a first step. Moving forward, we’ll need to consider additional solutions, and we invite families to be part of that conversation.”

Declining birth rates, the rising cost of living, and other demographic trends are contributing to fewer school-age children throughout Salt Lake County. Those changes are being felt across the District and present particular challenges for DLI programs, which depend on sufficient enrollment to sustain both immersion and non-immersion classrooms.

Traditionally, a two-class DLI cohort begins with about 56 immersion students, or 28 students in each class, along with enrollment to support neighborhood classrooms. This past year, however, some Canyons schools did not have enough incoming first-grade students to sustain that model and had to move to a one-class cohort model.

Moving forward, the Administration has proposed consistent and predictable enrollment targets. The plan, discussed by the Canyons Board of Education at its Aug. 18, 2026 meeting, would establish a Jan. 15, 2027 enrollment deadline for the following school year and provide families with regular updates about their school’s progress toward those targets. The District is also extending its application window, which will run from Sept. 30 to Dec. 15, 2026.

Enrollment Targets

• For a two-class DLI cohort: At least 50 students would need to commit by Jan. 15 to enrolling in DLI, and there would need to be 19 students in the neighborhood classroom.
• For a one-class cohort: If DLI enrollment falls short of 50, the school would move to a one-class DLI cohort of 30 students. This class size accounts for normal attrition in the program, and ensures there is enough enrollment to sustain the program as students advance in age.

We Want to Hear From You

The larger question facing Canyons is how to preserve robust DLI opportunities well into the future.

At some schools, the challenge can no longer be solved simply by moving to single-class cohorts. One current example presented to the Board involves a school with only 42 incoming kindergarten students. Even if every incoming student selected DLI, there would not be enough students to support both the traditional immersion model and a viable neighborhood classroom.

Long-term possibilities could include adjusting school boundaries, developing DLI-only magnet schools that draw students from a larger geographic area, or consolidating programs to create stronger more sustainable cohorts.

No long-term decisions have been made, said Robinson. “The District wants families to understand the challenges and help identify the priorities that should guide future planning.”

What matters most to families as Canyons plans for the future of Dual-Language Immersion? Would families consider traveling farther to participate in a magnet immersion-only school? What role do school boundaries, class sizes and continuity through middle and high school play in future decisions?

Canyons invites school communities to share their perspectives through a brief survey that will be emailed directly to all student families.

Feedback will help inform the District’s Long-Range Planning process. It will also help the District understand what information families need as enrollment decisions are communicated from year to year.

For more information, see the Board presentation at this link or the recorded livestream of the Aug. 18 meeting of the Canyons Board of Education.