The Transitional Model provides bilingual participants language and academic concept development in Spanish while successfully acquiring English knowledge and skills through a systematic and conscious instructional approach. Spanish is used to assist students in transferring high cognitive skills to English. As the students transition into English, the English core subjects are introduced into the students’ instructional program based on their academic language proficiency.   

The Transitional Model’s goals are:

Provide a transitional program of studies that affords students the opportunity to transfer Spanish language, literacy, and content to English.
Develop students' language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish and English.
Develop/increase students' literacy skills and concept development in Spanish and English to help them succeed in the English academic program.
Develop an awareness and appreciation of diverse cultures and languages.
Meet the same challenging state academic standards as all students are expected to meet. 
Comply with district, state, and federal mandates.
GISD has developed language program classifications and curricular stages to identify a student’s needs and prescribed instruction within the Transitional Model. The following table describes these language and program classifications and the required curricular implementation.  Elementary Policy and Procedures for the Implementation of the Transitional Model of the Bilingual Education Program describes all the features of the model.

Bilingual teachers in this program are highly qualified with certification in Elementary Education with a Bilingual Education endorsement. The district has an agreement with the Bilingual Multicultural Education Department of NMPED to hire only “Highly Qualified” teachers.