Sunnyside School District Calendar 2026-2027

For many Sunnyside families, school communication moves naturally between Spanish and English. Five elementary communities lead into Harrison or Sierra Vista Middle School and then Sunnyside High School. Across that route, multilingual staff, interpreters, migrant education and family outreach help parents manage registration, conferences, health needs and graduation planning in an agricultural Lower Yakima Valley community.

The support system is unusually visible. The district lists twenty-one school counselors, fifteen of whom speak Spanish, along with ten Spanish-speaking mental-health counselors and a nursing team that includes a migrant nurse. Migrant services add home contact, academic assistance, health coordination and help when moves or seasonal work interrupt a student’s year. Language access and student well-being are woven through ordinary school operations.

A two-way dual-language pathway begins in 2026–27 with kindergarten at Sun Valley Elementary. The 50:50 Spanish-English model is planned to add one grade each year and eventually reach middle school; at the August 2026 research date, it remains a new kindergarten entry point. Sunnyside students already encounter bilingualism through family communication, counseling and support across the district, while a growing cohort begins a formal academic sequence designed to carry both languages forward.