On a rainy Tuesday morning, Tamara Bravo’s kindergarten class at Park View Elementary School sat in a semicircle on a colorful rug gathered around their teacher. They excitedly identified colors and answered questions about the weather and the items of clothing they might need — all traditional kindergarten curriculum.
There was one thing different in Bravo’s classroom, however. All of her questions and all of the students’ answers were en español — in Spanish. Bravo’s students are among the 242 kindergarteners and first graders taking part in a Spanish language dual immersion program offered for the first time this academic year at the Mooresville Graded School District’s three elementary schools.
The first quarter of the academic year is not yet complete but the young students clearly understood Bravo’s prompts and questions even though she asked in a foreign language. Already, her 5- and 6-year-old students are able to ask to use the bathroom entirely in Spanish, Bravo said. In the school’s first grade hallway, students are reading and speaking in full sentences in Spanish and English.
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“Six weeks in, the progress they’re making is just great,” said MGSD Superintendent Stephen Mauney during a Park View immersion classroom tour with several Board of Education members.
The students were signed up for the immersion program by their parents and then selected to join the program in a lottery held prior to the start of school. Immersion students learn to speak, understand, read and write in Spanish and English two days each per week with Friday serving as a split Spanish/English day, said Jemma Conley, MGSD elementary curriculum coordinator.
Across the hall in teacher Jennifer Young’s kindergarten class, immersion students studied phonics and practiced writing the letters of the alphabet in English. The following day they will switch to Bravo’s class to learn their lessons in Spanish and vice-versa for Bravo’s students.
The school district sought to begin the dual immersion program last year but the COVID-19 pandemic shut down plans to bring teachers in from overseas, said Tanae McLean, MGSD chief communication officer. This academic year brought with it the easing of travel restrictions and the district was able to hire six bilingual teachers from five Spanish-speaking countries including Peru, Argentina, Chile, Dominican Republic and Colombia.
Conley said the district hosts a weekly team meeting among the immersion teachers to offer support and guidance.
The reason for creating an immersion language program is clear. “Immersion students who learn multiple languages score higher on standardized tests as they grow older,” said McLean. “It is good to have that whether it be in jobs in the future or college. Students educated in a dual language program are better able to navigate the complexities of a multi-cultural global society.”
Park View Principal Misha Rogers said parents “have been very excited,” with the dual immersion program. Initially, some parents were nervous they would not be able to help their young children with their Spanish schoolwork but educators reassured them the students would be OK even if the work seemed initially challenging. “Don’t worry, the language is going to come,” Rogers said she told parents.
Conley said the program has turned into a family affair with parents learning Spanish along with their children.
The dual immersion classes offer more than just learning how to read and speak Spanish. The program also focuses on Hispanic cultures that fit right into National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15-Oct. 15, Conley said. Bravo, a native of Chile, educated her classes on the customs associated with the Chilean Independence Day on Sept. 18. She dressed in traditional Chilean clothes, brought in sweet treats to share with the class and even taught the students a traditional dance, Rogers said.