In March 2017 the Institute for Latino Studies launched the South Bend area’s first Spanish-English immersion program at Holy Cross School. The program focuses on promoting "two-way immersion". In the case of Holy Cross School two-way immersion means that students from two distinct languages can come together and form a mutually beneficial learning community. This includes but is not limited to learning from one another's linguistic and cultural assets, increased brain usage, and interpersonal skills. The way that the Spanish-English immersion program works is that the immersion track will add one grade level at a time, as the current cohorts move through primary school.
Holy Cross will continue offering its traditional education track, which recently had significant recognition at both the local and state levels. At the preschool and pre-kindergarten level, Holy Cross became the first Catholic school in the South Bend region eligible to receive Indiana Early Childhood Development funds. Ashley Parmelee, a Kindergarten teacher at Holly Cross School, was recognized with a Light of Learning Award by the Diocese of Fort Wayne - South Bend.
Leading the launch of the two-way immersion track are Dr. Katy Walter Lichon and Dr. Luis R. Fraga. Walter Lichon is the Director of Catholic School Advantage and of the English as a New Language Program at the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education. She is also a specialist in language acquisition. Fraga is the Director of the Institute for Latino Studies. Additionally, he is an expert in the effect of two-way immersion on school communities. Dr. Fraga says “Two-way immersion programs capture the growing diversity of our Catholic communities to build educational opportunities that strengthen our Catholic schools and serve the Church for generations to come."