Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Schools Mull Spanish Language Program

Source: http://nbcsandiego.com/news/16415925/detail.html

POSTED: 11:59 am PDT May 28, 2008
UPDATED: 2:56 pm PDT May 28, 2008

SAN DIEGO -- The Del Mar Union School District may start a Spanish language program at one of its elementary schools, officials said Wednesday.

The program would expose all students at Del Mar Heights School to conversational Spanish in their classrooms. In some grade levels, there would be more focused language instruction, leading to class work in Spanish.

The school board is scheduled to discuss -- and possibly vote -- on this issue at a meeting on Wednesday night. Among the issues to be discussed is the possibility of increased staffing costs for the district and the potential impact on student enrollment in the kindergarten and first-grade class at Del Mar Academy. Those challenges might cause the school board to start a more limited Spanish language program.

Parents at Del Mar Heights School told NBC 7/39 that they were very excited about the possibility of Spanish language instruction for their children. School principal Wendy Wardlow said she hopes the school board will approve the Spanish Discovery Program.

Although some parents expressed concern about costs and the resources it would take to support the program, but many parents said foreign-language skills are a top priority for this generation of American children.