Nearly 60 pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students are getting help to prepare for the future through a new dual-language immersion program.
The Legado Spanish Immersion Academy, which began last week at Clifty Creek Elementary School, allows Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. students to study both Spanish and English in classes taught by three native Spanish speakers.
The program uses an 80/20 model, which allows individuals to be immersed in Spanish for 80 percent of the time, while the remaining 20 percent is in English. That model was chosen based on research performed as being the best option for BCSC students, according to the district.
Kindergarten teacher Angelica Renteria, a native of Chihuahua, Mexico, helped engage her students last week by going over numbers and shapes in her classroom during a lesson with students, who repeated the words in unison.
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“I’m excited to see their eagerness to learn,” Renteria said. “My hope is that the parents are engaged as the students are.”
Her focus over the first three days of school involved reviewing basic classroom rules. Renteria plans to begin introducing the alphabet this week and eventually nursery rhymes in Spanish, she said.
Teachers are also using visual cues to help students learn in their classrooms, which include children’s books such as Dr. Seuss’ “Green Eggs and Ham” that have been translated into Spanish.
How are the students doing so far?
“Muey bien,” which means “very good” in Spanish.
Posters, words and signs displayed in Spanish are among the elements educators are using to help students learn about the language. There are 23 students in the prekindergarten classroom, while an additional 36 are split into two classrooms at Clifty Creek.
“It’s a lot of talking with hand gestures,” said Denise Recarte, BCSC’s director of the English Language Learning program.
Thirteen students in the prekindergarten classroom at Clifty Creek are native Spanish speakers, while 11 out of the 36 in the kindergarten classrooms already speak Spanish, according to the district.
Collaboration among students is a key part of the learning environment, said Greicy Patino, who teaches one of the two kindergarten classrooms with fellow teacher Susan Pena, who is from the Dominican Republic.
“They are all helping each other,” said Patino, who graduated from Columbus North High School in 2013.
In Patino’s classroom, she has tried to make her classroom an interactive experience for students, which has included showing a video to allow children to learn days of the week in Spanish. Her classroom is divided up into different sections, allowing children to learn content in those respective areas, she said.
“It is important for them to be focused,” she said. “This year, I want them to be feel comfortable, excited and engaged.”
Clifty Creek has a colorful mural in its library of a cougar — the school sports mascot — with the phrase “Success is dependent on effort” by Sophocles, which has been translated into Spanish, Japanese and Hindi.
“We’re trying to take steps forward when you walk in; you’re in a dual-language building,” Clifty Creek Principal Michael Parsons said.
Parsons’ son, Caleb, is in one of the kindergarten dual-language classrooms this year.
“It’s a beautiful picture of what a diverse culture is,” Parsons said. “I felt like I was giving him an opportunity I didn’t have as a child. This is a gift to him.”
The school is integrating language arts curriculum Adelante into its kindergarten classrooms this year and Parsons said the benefits of learning a second language not only includes developing an appreciation of other cultures, but will also help them in their future careers.
“People will be highly sought in our community and around the world,” Parsons said.
BCSC is working to build on diversity that already exists within the district, said Laura Hack, BCSC’s director of secondary education. That is important since students may look and think differently, but can relate to each other through the immersion program, she said.
There are currently 60 different languages that are spoken by BCSC students and their families.
“I can’t imagine anyone not wanting a second language to better themselves,” Hack said.
The district hopes to expand the dual-language immersion program by adding two classes per grade level in the future, Hack said.
Students will be prepared in the future as a result of learning a new language, whether that means entering a skilled trade or another occupation, said Shane Yates, BCSC’s director of prekindergarten.
“They will be able to add to their future by being bilingual and biliterate,” he said. “It’s a great coming together (of students) and it’s a phenomenal start to the program.”
Educators such as Patino are also eager to see students continue learning Spanish.
“I’m just excited to see where they’ll be,” she said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity.”
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For more information about the Legado Spanish Immersion Academy, contact Clifty Creek Elementary School principal Michael Parsons at [email protected] or Denise Recarte, director of the English Language Learning program, at [email protected].
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“People will be highly sought in our community and around the world,” Parsons said.
— Clifty Creek Principal Michael Parsons
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