Spanish Immersion Program Harney Elementary School
3212 E. Evergreen Blvd.
Vancouver, Washington 98661
360-313-2000
The Spanish Immersion Program will begin its second year in 2009-10. The Spanish Immersion Program is an academically challenging and enriching program for developing linguistic proficiency in Spanish and English.
In 2009-10 the program will be open to kindergarten and first-grade students. Grade levels will be added each year as students progress through elementary school. Located at Harney Elementary School, the program is open to students throughout Vancouver Public Schools.
The 90/10 instructional model
At the kindergarten and first-grade level, approximately 90 percent of instruction will be in Spanish and 10 percent will be in English to facilitate early Spanish language acquisition and literacy development.
As students transition to higher grades, more of the instruction shifts to English, so that by the fifth grade there will be 50/50 Spanish/English instruction. This allows students to eventually achieve high levels of proficiency in Spanish while at the same time performing at or above grade level on standardized tests taken in English.
Spanish Immersion Program goals
• To increase the achievement of all students and to close achievement gaps
• To achieve true bilingualism and bi-literacy for participating students
• To expand students’ world views in order to know more and to know differently
• To foster and promote cultural diversity and respect among all students
• To promote a sense of community throughout the neighborhood school
Parent participation and commitment
To ensure achievement and success for students in the Spanish Immersion Program, it is necessary for families to commit to the program for six years (kindergarten through fifth grade). Active parent support is extremely important to the long-term success of the program. Involvement in the classrooms, helping your child with homework, attending parent workshops, and providing feedback increases the likelihood of student success.
Features of the Spanish Immersion Program
• Students achieve fluency in a second language while enhancing English language skills
• Students develop cognitive flexibility, improved nonverbal problem-solving abilities, and divergent thinking
• Students gain an enhanced ability to communicate with a wider range of people
Benefits of a Spanish Immersion Program
• Students have the opportunity to achieve true bilingualism and bi-literacy in Spanish and English. Students learn languages more easily at an early age. Immersing and instructing students in the second language provides an effective way for students to learn to speak, read and write fluently in both languages by fifth grade.
•Bilingual students demonstrate academic gains. Research shows that students in language immersion programs develop strong academic skills in addition to becoming proficient in both languages.
•Students develop cultural literacy as well as enhanced cognitive skills. Students enrolled in a language immersion program benefit from the ability to communicate with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. They also experience academic achievement at or above their single-language peers. Research covering more than 40 years of language immersion instruction shows that students receive a variety of cognitive benefits such as mental flexibility, nonverbal problem-solving abilities, and enhanced critical thinking skills.
Application process
Interested families must complete and submit an application for their child. Students residing within the Harney boundaries will have special consideration to be admitted to the program. Other in-district applicants will receive the next priority, followed by out-of-district transfer requests.
In the event that there are more applicants than spaces available, a lottery drawing to determine order of placement into the program will be held. Other students will be placed on a waiting list and will be added to the Spanish Immersion Program as program space permits. Timelines will be determined by the building administrators.
Students on the waiting list need to apply for admittance each year. Once students are admitted to the program, they will have continued placement in the program each year without having to reapply.
Parent Information Nights
Additional information about the philosophy and design of the Spanish Immersion Program is presented at Spanish Immersion Parent Information Nights held at Harney Elementary School, 3212 E. Evergreen Blvd, Vancouver, 98661. Parents who wish to apply for their child to be in the Spanish Immersion Program must attend one of the parent meetings in order for their child to be considered. Child care is provided. Please contact the school at 313-2000 if you are unable to attend one of the scheduled meetings.
Parent information meetings:
March 17, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
April 14, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
May 20, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Other important dates: March 3 - May 28, 2009 – Applications accepted for the Spanish Immersion Program May 29, 2009 – Lottery drawing to determine program placement, if necessary
