Brenda Amparan leads her first graders in Spanish at Pueblo Elementary School in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Sept. 16, 2025.

Spanish is often framed as both essential and deeply rooted in Miami, a necessity to “get by” living in the 305. In certain ways, it is. In other ways it is not, says FIU sociolinguist Phillip Carter.

But the biggest gains in test scores, especially in math, were visible when Hispanic English learners were paired with Hispanic teachers who had a bilingual language certification. This certification ...