| Barbour Language Academy |
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Grades K-7 |
Barbour Language Academy strives to create a multicultural school that assures boundless opportunities for students and their future by teaching them to speak, read, and write in Spanish and English.
To achieve proficiency in both languages, the phase-in language immersion program begins by instructing K-1 grade students in Spanish 90% of the school day and in English 10% of the school day. Students learn to read in Spanish first with formal reading instruction in English beginning in third grade. As the grades progress, the amount of instructional time in Spanish decreases as the amount of instructional time in English increases. By the fifth grade, the amount of instructional time in Spanish and English is 50/50 and the students will have achieved bilingualism. Sixth through eighth grade students continue to develop their language proficiency and academic achievement equally in both English and Spanish.
The language immersion program provides opportunities and benefits to its students in a variety of ways. Studies have shown, and experience has supported, that children who learn a foreign language at an early age gain many advantages over those who don’t. The benefits of learning a foreign language are:
Students develop a lifelong ability to communicate with more people.
Overall school performance and standardized test scores in English are higher.
Students gain a competitive advantage in the workplace with enhanced career opportunities.
Students have a broadened appreciation of cultural diversity.
College requirements for foreign languages are met.
Students develop native-like language pronunciation.
Barbour Language Academy promotes superior achievement in all District 205 curriculum areas and exceeds the goals and objectives set by state and federal requirements in foreign language.
The school building is equipped with a well-stocked bilingual library, a 30-station computer lab with Internet access, a gymnasium and a stage for student performances. The building, designed for innovative learning, security and space, is organized by grade levels.
Parents of Barbour students have the opportunity to participate in English/Spanish classes, receive assistance from support programs to help their child with schoolwork, and become partners with the school in supporting their child’s education. |
