Who?
Entering Transitional Kindergarten or Kindergarten students who speak either Spanish or English
What?
Students will achieve academic excellence (in Spanish and English) becoming bilingual, biliterate and bicultural.
Why?
-Language learning is natural for young children
-Language learning challenges mental development
-Language learning prepares students for the demands of the 21st century
How?
This program affords students the opportunity to learn both the Spanish and English languages in a proficient manner. The program reflects the 90:10 model where the instructional day consists of 90% Spanish and 10% English in Kindergarten. Each year, the amount of English instruction increases by 10% and Spanish instruction decreases by 10%. By the time students are in the fourth grade, they are instructed 50% of their day in English and 50% of their day in Spanish. At the secondary level, instruction consists of approximately 30% Spanish and 70% English instruction.
Benefits
- Additive Bilingualism
- Students gain a new language and maintain their native language
- High Academic Achievement
- Increases job opportunities for many careers.
- Promotes critical and creative thinking
- Students fulfill language requirements for high school and university