Durham, NC: Spanish-immersion Elementary Classes Give Kids..
Now another reason to keep your school age kids out of Durham public schools...
Spanish-immersion Elementary Classes Give Kids Bilingual Start
By KELLY HINCHCLIFFE
Posted: Jan. 28, 2007
DURHAM, N.C. — Every child has a story to share, a reason for being in teacher Matt Schewel's second-grade class at Southwest Elementary School in Durham.
Seven-year-old Jack Wasielewski wants to talk with his grandmother in her native language, Spanish. Monserrat Banda, also 7, already speaks Spanish but wants to read it as well. Emma Conklin-Miller's mother used to live in Mexico, and the 8-year-old wants to learn the language.
These and other students are part of a program at Southwest called Two-Way Language Immersion.
In it, students receive 50 percent of their instruction in Spanish and the other 50 percent in English. Classes span kindergarten through fourth grade, and children must apply and be selected by lottery to get in.
The school aims to achieve a balance of half English-speaking students and half Spanish-speaking students. Math, Spanish literacy and science are taught primarily in Spanish, while English literacy and social studies are taught primarily in English.
Currently, 112 students at Southwest - or 16.4 percent of the school's population - are enrolled in the program, which equates to a little more than 22 students per class.
Schewel hopes to expand the program to fifth grade next year and eventually achieve magnet status at Southwest so students from all over the district can take the classes.
"(The program) helps you realize more about your own language and make connections," he said. "It gives kids from all groups an opportunity to interact, and it helps with self-esteem."
Schewel, who says he is a distant relative of Durham school board member Steve Schewel, is director of Southwest's immersion program. He also teaches second- and third-graders enrolled in the program.
On a recent Thursday, students filed into class as Schewel prepared a guest for what she was about to witness.
"You'll be really amazed!" he whispered. With that, he welcomed his students and rattled off a litany of instructions - all in Spanish.
"Sientense, por favor," he said, politely instructing the students to sit.
Schewel didn't slow his speech because it was in a foreign language, and the kids didn't seem to mind. Puzzled looks were nowhere to be found. Instead, students raised their hands to answer questions and responded to the teacher in Spanish.
A few instructions later, students broke off into small groups around the room to begin their class work. More than 10 minutes into class, not a word of English had been spoken.
Even in their small groups, students reminded each other to talk in Spanish as they worked on class projects.
"Muy bien! Muy bien!" said 7-year-old James Carrington, congratulating his second-grade classmate Naomi Hodges, also 7, on a job well done.
"You are muy loco," Naomi shot back, kidding her classmate that he is "very crazy."
James said he has been studying Spanish since he was in pre-kindergarten. He also takes a Spanish class after school, which has helped further build his skills.
"If somebody needs you to translate, you can translate," he said.
James said he encountered that exact situation just a few weeks ago when helped his sister's friend understand some English phrases.
"I had to tell her words she didn't understand," he said.
James also takes time on the playground to help his own friends learn a bit of Spanish, a talent that "really surprises" them, he said.
Parent Jennifer Wasielewski said she has been impressed with how her 7-year-old son, Jack, has done in Schewel's class. He has been enrolled in the immersion program since kindergarten, and the class has helped him communicate with his Mexican grandmother.
"(The program) wasn't well-publicized, but a friend told me about it," Wasielewski said. "Some parents at Southwest probably don't even know it exists."
After seeing her son flourish in the class, Wasielewski has made it her goal to help Schewel promote the program.
"It's such a good opportunity for children to learn a second language," she said. "Anyone who would see what's happening would be amazed and impressed."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.[/quote]
