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There was never a better time in history
to speak more than one language, but why
is it that we tend to neglect the
treasure in our own backyard? Obviously,
Spanish is a good
language
to know if you are a Californian, but
were you aware that Spanish is spoken in
21 countries worldwide? Among countries
whose official language is Spanish are
Spain,
 Argentina,
Malabo (West Africa), Costa Rica, and
Mexico. Needless to say, amazing
possibilities exist for those who are
bi-lingual and biliterate in Spanish.
I am proud to say that the Walnut Grove
School Dual Language Academy will
provide an enrichment program dedicated
to building a student body that is
bilingual, biliterate and multicultural.
This will be achieved by providing a
comprehensive core curriculum in
conjunction with instruction in Spanish.
Beginning in Kindergarten, 90% of
instruction will take place in Spanish
while 10% of the instruction is in
English (90:10 ratio). It is through
this concept of "total immersion" in
Spanish that children first begin to
acquire the foundation that will anchor
their progress as they start their
journey towards being bilingual and
bi-literate students. In 1st grade, an
80:20 ratio of Spanish and English is
achieved. This pattern progresses until
the 4th grade where it then becomes and
stays 50% in Spanish and 50% in English
(50:50).
Research regarding dual language
education has
revealed that once children are fully
bilingual, they start to outperform
their peers. In fact, I was personally
involved in research through California
State University, Stanislaus dealing
with California dual language schools.
Utilizing statistical analysis software,
we concluded that, on average, dual
language schools performed as well or
better on the California Standards Test
(CST) than schools with regular
programs. During its first year in
existence, the Walnut Grove School Dual
Language Academy will serve kindergarten
students. As those students advance to
first grade, a second group of
kindergarteners will be selected for the
program. This will continue throughout
the years until dual language
instruction is offered school-wide
(K-8). Dual language instruction is not
a good fit for all students, and so we
will offer English-only instruction to
meet the needs of students not enrolled
in the Dual Language Academy. Please
CLICK HERE to view a PowerPoint
presentation regarding our Dual Language
Academy.
Thank you for your interest!
Steve Charbonneau
Principal
Walnut Grove School
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