Starting San Francisco's first Spanish-French-English immersion program, that's our aim, as parents, educators, and advocates.
Why Spanish
Spanish is one of the fastest growing languages in the U.S. It also reflects our neighborhoods' latino roots. With forty-five million speakers and six million Spanish language students, the United States is the third-largest Hispanophone country in the world after Mexico and Colombia. Locally, we hear Spanish every day in and around Bernal Heights, where many of us live.
Why french
French is spoken in more than fifty countries on five continents, and the population of its member nations approaches one billion. Also, it is the second most widely studied language in the world, after only English. Its helpfulness in diverse careers in the arts, science, and law is unique. And for some reason, there happen to be a lot of French speakers in our neighborhoods.
the power of three
In the book Considering Trilingual Education, Olympia Kyriakidis describes a trilingual education as "a win/win opportunity for the future of the children." And we've heard it said so many times: children are like sponges. The experience of Riverview Elementary, a public school near San Diego, shows it's true in this video.
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”
What We've done thus far
- Researched bilingual and trilingual programs in Oakland, LA, San Diego, and NYC.
- Reached out to educators, administrators, and other officials within the San Francisco Unified School District.
- Started to plan for fundraising.
- Discussed the vision with a local principal.
- Reviewed immersion curricula and discussed it with experts in curriculum and education design.
- Talked to local civic leaders, business people, and community organizations.