Spanish, English taught side-by-side

Geralda Miller
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/26/2003 10:35 pm

The Mariposa Academy of Language and Learning is the only charter school in Nevada where English and Spanish are taught to elementary school students.
Whether the novel concept works is unclear: Early results from a federal study validate the school’s methods, but an in-depth study has yet to be completed.

At Mariposa, there are two first- and second-grade classrooms, where students are placed based on a language assessment test given at the beginning of the year to determine their language dominance.

In one classroom, the student whose language dominance is Spanish learns math, science, reading and language arts in Spanish. English is taught as one of the classes. In the other classroom, the same courses are taught in English with Spanish as one of the classes.

There also were supposed to be two third-grade classrooms, but not enough students registered to support two classes, said Principal Aida Tadeo.

The idea is that the students will be proficient in both languages by the fourth grade, Tadeo said.

The first in-depth federally funded studies researching how Spanish-speaking children become literate in English will not be finished until 2005, about the same time the academy will have comparative results.

However, early results from the federal studies validate the teaching method.
“I do think there is evidence that, for the beginning grades, the native language does help these students to both learn English to high levels and the academic content they need to learn at each grade level,” said Donna Christian, president for Center for Applied Linguistics.

The agency, which was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Education, is a private, non-profit agency in Washington, D.C., which deals with issues related to language and culture.

Three Hispanic community leaders opened Mariposa Academy of Language of Learning in August to show the Washoe County School District an alternative method for teaching students who were struggling with English as a Second Language.
“We liked this model because it is applicable for English learners as well as those who want their children to learn another language,” said Estela Gutierrez, one of the founders of the school and chairman of its board. Her husband, Jesse Gutierrez, and Bert Ramos were the other founders.

The U.S. Department of Education recently funded through grants more than a dozen research projects on the literacy development of Spanish-speaking students, said Peggy McCardle, associate chief of child development and behavior branch in the Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Previous studies had not looked at the most effective way for Spanish-speaking children to learn to speak English, she said.

“It’s the first time that the federal government has invested at this level with studies of this magnitude and I think it’s very significant,” McCardle said. “This is really big.”

Some reports will start to be released next year, but final results of the five-year studies are not expected until 2005, Christian said.

The studies were initiated in hopes of finding ways to narrow the achievement gap between English-speaking students and speakers of other languages, Christian said. The studies also were begun because of the increasing number of Spanish-speaking students — the same reason Mariposa Academy was founded.

The goal of dual-language programs is to be bilingual, Christian said. It is not just for the transition from Spanish to English, but also from English to Spanish.
The ideal teaching method would be for students from two different backgrounds to be placed in classrooms together learning in both languages, Christian said. Half of the instruction would be in Spanish and the balance in English.
“The goal is for everyone to be bilingual and bi-literate,” she said.

Christian said she does not label Mariposa as a dual-language school.

However, what is being taught at Mariposa is better than immediate immersion into an English-speaking public school, Christian said.

“Beginning their instructions in their stronger language makes a lot of sense,” she said. “You want to use what the child brings to school. You always play to their strength when you’re trying to educate them.”


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