Concerns about starting a dual language school

My son is a first grader at Amigos, a 20 year old dual language Spanish/English school in Cambridge, MA. It is a Jr.K-8 elementary school and is made up of 40% Native Spanish speakers and 60% native English Speakers.

I am a believer and advocate for dual language education. I didn't grow up speaking another language and as a result, I feel disconnected from a big portion of the people around the world who are multilingual. Because I want more for my children than what I had, I pushed to get him into Amigos. After waiting one year, he finally got in off the waitlist and was able to enter the school in first grade. Naturally we were excited, but as the summer ended and his first day of school was closer, both my husband and I were anxious about our decision.

My son is a shy boy who has a natural curiosity about the world around him. He lives to build and especially loves to figure out how things work. Language does not come easy to him. I think he really doesn't see the need for it yet. Given his personality and the fact that my husband and I don't speak Spanish and that he was entering the school two years behind many of his classmates, our anxiety was expected.

It has been 5 months and I couldn't be happier with our decision. First and for most, he loves school. He is excited about going to school and he is even more excited to be learning Spanish. This excitement didn't happen over night, but it happened over the past five months. At first he came home not understanding why he was learning Spanish. He was frustrated that he did not understand the language and that he could not participate fully in the class. We would talk about his frustration and I would say, "Imagine how non-english language children feel when they enter a school or community not knowing the language. It is the same feeling." Now he has a sensitivity and understanding of what others go through.

In addition it was about a month into school when he started to have appreciation for our Spanish speaking babysitter. When she started, he wanted nothing to do with her. More recently when it was time to do his homework, or if he did not understand what happened in school that day, he would ask for her. He was now making a connection with her and has a sympathy to her struggle with the english language. I believe these cultural lessons are invaluable and in addition to his learning a second language will shape his moral values.