Transforming Education Through Language Immersion and Global Learning in Pitt County Schools

At Pitt County Schools, three forward-thinking schools have found a powerful answer to one of education’s biggest challenges: how to prepare students for the future when 65% of children today will work in jobs that don’t yet exist.

The solution Pitt County has embraced? Global education through language immersion and global learning programs. Global education equips students with more than content knowledge—it helps them become better problem solvers, more adaptable and empathetic individuals, and more confident leaders. When embedded into school priorities, a global approach to education empowers students to apply what they’re learning in relevant ways, building the durable skills they’ll need for the future.

By combining dual language instruction with Participate Learning’s Global Leaders framework, Belvoir Elementary School, Pactolus Global School, and Elmhurst Elementary School in Pitt County have created learning environments where students don’t just learn—they apply their knowledge by engaging with the world around them.

This approach ensures that all students, whether they are native English speakers or English language learners (ELLs), develop bilingual skills while building capabilities in analytical thinking, adaptability, empathy, and communication—skills that the Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies as employer priorities. Students learn to tackle real-world challenges, collaborate across cultures, and lead with empathy—exactly the skills employers are seeking.

Dual Language Programs in Pitt County: Tailored Immersion Models for Student Success

Pitt County Schools has designed its language immersion programs to reflect the needs of its multilingual and multicultural student populations. By aligning immersion models with community demographics, schools ensure that both native English speakers and ELLs receive the support they need to succeed.

Without a formal newcomer intake center, Pitt County’s language immersion programs serve as a critical resource for ELLs. These programs help students transition smoothly into the classroom to ensure that they feel included while receiving a high-quality education.

The 50/50 Spanish-English Immersion Model

At Belvoir Elementary and Pactolus Global schools, students participate in a 50/50 Spanish-English immersion program, which balances language instruction equally between English and Spanish.

The 50/50,  A/B-day dual language model alternates instruction between English and Spanish each day. Students learn a concept in either English or Spanish and then apply or extend it in the other language the following day, deepening their understanding by transferring across languages and increasing rigor.

Teachers provide critical scaffolds to help every student grow, ensuring access to content and opportunities for participation. This model supports bilingualism, strengthens academic learning, and creates a supportive learning environment where students build skills to thrive in a connected world.

The 90/10 Spanish Immersion Model at Elmhurst Elementary School

Elmhurst Elementary School implements a 90/10 Spanish immersion model that is designed to maximize language acquisition in Spanish. This model is particularly effective in a school where the surrounding community does not have a large Spanish-speaking population. With the majority of instruction taking place in Spanish, this model provides an immersive experience for students to develop strong bilingual skills from an early age.

By tailoring immersion strategies to the unique needs of each school, Pitt County Schools is setting students up for success in a multilingual, multicultural world.

Bringing Global Education to Life: The Global Leaders Framework

To ensure that all students, not just those in language immersion programs, develop global awareness, Pitt County Schools integrated the Global Leaders framework alongside its bilingual education efforts. 

This pairing helps students see beyond their immediate surroundings and develop the skills needed to navigate an interconnected world while applying their academic knowledge to solve meaningful problems—the same type of thinking they’ll need in their future careers.

The Global Leaders framework focuses on equipping students through three key elements:

• Teaching students about global challenges to help them engage with real-world issues
• Showing students how to apply academic knowledge to solve problems in local and global contexts
• Helping students develop global competencies—like self-awareness, communication, and critical thinking—durable skills that will serve them for their lifetimes and prepare them to lead and take action

These three elements are seamlessly integrated throughout the three Pitt County Schools that have embraced global education as a foundational approach to preparing students for the future: Belvoir Elementary School, Pactolus Global School, and Elmhurst Elementary School. For example, each of these schools implements global competencies on flexible schedules that align with each school’s rhythm. Some focus on different competencies monthly; others do so quarterly.

This adaptable model allows educators to revisit and deepen student understanding of key competencies—such as intercultural understanding, communication, and critical thinking in global contexts—through a spiral review approach. By returning to previously introduced skills and concepts, students build a stronger, more interconnected understanding over time.

Career-Ready Graduates and Engaged Educators: The Impact of Global Education

By combining language immersion with the Global Leaders framework, Pitt County Schools is creating vibrant, engaging classrooms where students feel empowered to lead and teachers feel supported to grow.

How Students Benefit from Global Education

The integration of language immersion and global learning creates these transformative outcomes for students:

• Deepened academic learning: By applying their knowledge to real-world global challenges, students develop a stronger understanding of academic content while seeing its practical relevance.
• Enhanced student leadership: Regardless of language of origin, all students develop confidence in leading projects that address community and global issues.
• Increased engagement and purpose: Students become actively invested in their learning as they connect classroom knowledge to meaningful action that serves their communities and the world.
• Career readiness through service: Students develop the problem-solving, collaboration, and leadership skills that employers seek while cultivating a sense of purpose that will guide their future career choices.

How Teachers Benefit from Global Education

The framework creates a supportive, growth-oriented environment for educators:

• Unified school focus: Teachers work within a shared commitment to global education that aligns efforts across classrooms and grade levels.
• Expanded leadership opportunities: The global education approach creates new roles for teacher leadership, from mentoring colleagues to leading cross-cultural initiatives.
• Professional development and growth: Teachers build expertise in both language immersion and global education, expanding their skills and enhancing their effectiveness while finding greater purpose in their work.

Broader School Benefits of Global Education

Beyond student and teacher outcomes, schools implementing this dual approach report these additional benefits that strengthen the entire educational community:

• Improved teacher satisfaction and retention as educators feel more purposeful and engaged in their work
• New opportunities for teacher leadership through global education committees and cross-cultural initiatives
• Stronger community connections as families and local organizations become involved in global learning projects
• Enhanced ability to attract and retain students by distinguishing themselves in the education landscape as forward-thinking, globally-minded schools

By fostering this integrated approach to language immersion and global learning, schools can create learning environments where multilingual students are celebrated as assets, academic learning connects to real-world problem-solving, and every student develops the analytical thinking, adaptability, empathy, and communication skills that will define career success in an unpredictable future.

A Framework That Elevates Every Learner

The combination of language immersion and global learning has transformed Pitt County’s school communities at every level—student engagement has deepened, teacher purpose has expanded, and entire schools have evolved into places where learning connects directly to life.

Today, these schools have become laboratories for the future of education. Students graduate with both the bilingual fluency and the problem-solving mindset that will define success in tomorrow’s economy. Teachers find themselves at the center of work that feels both personally meaningful and professionally transformative.

Pitt County’s experience reveals a powerful truth: Schools that integrate language learning with global problem-solving create graduates who are not just academically prepared, but career-ready in the truest sense.

This transformation is within reach for schools ready to take the next step in preparing students for tomorrow’s careers. Start by taking our Career Readiness Assessment to evaluate your school’s current approach; then explore how you can create the same powerful combination of academic excellence and real-world preparation that defines Pitt County’s success.