How Will My Child Benefit from Attending Bilingual Beginnings Spanish Preschool?
Spanish-Language Schools Offer Students Unique Opportunities
by Deanna Martin, Associated Press
Like many children entering kindergarten, Alex Huettl was not sure what to expect on his first day of school. His mother had explained the unique program he would enter at Forest Glen Elementary. But the boy was still shocked when he heard his teacher speak to the class only in Spanish. “He was like, ‘I don’t understand what the teacher was saying,”‘ Sue Huettl recalled. “But he caught on really quick. It’s amazing how quickly they pick up on that language.”
Forest Glen is one of 39 certified International Spanish Academies, schools in the United States and Canada that partner with the Ministry of Education and Science in Spain. Elementary schools in the program provide at least half of all instruction, including math, science, and other subjects, in Spanish. At the high school level, at least 30 percent of instruction is in Spanish.
Proponents say the programs are unique. In Indiana, only 2 percent of elementary school students study a world language at all, compared with about 10 percent of middle school students and 44 percent of high school students, according to the state Department of Education. At Forest Glen, about 280 of the school’s 700 students participate in the immersion program. The other students get 30 minutes of Spanish each day.
Diving in
The immersion method can be intimidating for parents. Some say it’s strange to hear a child reading in Spanish before English. Helping with homework can be difficult when instructions are in Spanish.
Supporters say the payoffs outweigh the inconveniences. Students are bilingual, perform well in English, become independent learners, and have the advantage of a second language when they reach adulthood and look for jobs.
“It’s crucial that kids know enough Spanish to communicate,” said Linda Murphy, who was leery at first, but is now happy her two children are in immersion programs. “I told my kids, ‘I don’t care what you do in life–having that second language will only help you out.”‘
Her children–eighth-grader Amanda and fifth-grader Joseph–learned to do homework on their own because they couldn’t rely on her for guidance, although the school offers an English homework hotline in case parents need to help their children, Murphy said.
“They learned how to really be self-learners,” she said.
Forest Glen principal Nikki Woodson said children who go through the immersion program can read, write, speak, and even think like native Spanish speakers. “Our kids are gaining academic vocabulary. Our kids leave with native accents,” she said. “It’s an incredible language experience.”
Some students struggle a bit between the two languages at first, said Adriana Melnyk, coordinator of world languages with the Indiana Department of Education. Statewide testing scores can be lower in third grade, Melnyk said, if students are taught solely in Spanish and then tested in English.
“That’s a big concern a lot of people have,” she said. “But after that dip, they’re able to make the connections (between the two languages) and students skyrocket ahead.”
International Spanish Academies are found in 11 states and Canada. Four schools in Indiana, all in Indianapolis, offer the programs. The schools have access to resources from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, including visiting teachers from Spain, school exchanges, and classroom materials.
