TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The Twin Falls School District has made some big moves in establishing a permanent dual immersion magnet school. The district has already picked the building, Bickle Elementary, and has drawn up new boundaries to accommodate the program's first year.
Next, it was time to name a principal for the new program.
"The fact that I'll be the founding principal, I'm super excited," said Jorge Pulleiro, the new principal of Twin Falls Dual Immersion.
Current Twin Falls High School assistant principal, Jorge Pulleiro, will serve as the first principal of the Twin Falls Dual Immersion Magnet School.
"I'm originally from Argentina, from Buenos Aires, and I've been in the United States for 30 years," said Pulleiro.
After receiving his Bachelor's in Spanish language Interpretation from BYU, Pulleiro returned to Argentina, spending the next six years serving in the military.
"When I was ready to get out of the service, I joined the program 'Troops to Teachers,' which is a program that Barbra Bush kind of founded. She had this vision that too many soldiers were leaving the troops, and they would be amazing leaders in the classroom," said Pulleiro.
With that, Pulleiro found himself teaching in John Day, Oregon, and eventually made his way to Idaho via Wood River Middle School.
While at Wood River, Pulleiro was named the State of Idaho's Teacher of the Year in 2021, earning himself a trip to Washington D.C. and a special meeting in the White House.
"To think that a little boy from Argentina who was raided by his widowed mother, and now I'm at the White House being honored by the president. It was quite an amazing experience," said Pulleiro.
As for the future of dual immersion in Twin Falls; Pulleiro says it's all about creating an environment that supports the culture.
"There is a big 'C' in learning a new language and that is the 'C' of Culture. So, we'll be dancing, we'll be having fun, we'll be reading, cooking, having festivals and assemblies and being emersed in the culture of the Spanish language," added Pulleiro.
For the Twin Falls School District, Pulleiro was an easy pick, as the district looked for strong leadership that would push the program to grow.
"He has a rich history of being involved in Dual Immersion. I think he is well-suited to lead the program and obviously next year we will be K-3 and at 4th the following year and 5th after that,” said Twin Falls Superintendent of Schools Brady Dickinson.
Placement in the dual immersion program will be on a lottery system, so, if you are interested in applying for a spot, contact the Twin Falls School District.
