Spanish teachers begin work

Students in Orange County elementary schools will learn Spanish this fall through a new countywide foreign language program.

A foreign language curriculum committee - made up of parents, teachers and administrative leaders - was formed to guarantee a seamless progression from elementary through high school Spanish classes, said Anne D'Annunzio, spokeswoman for county schools.

"The best time to learn a foreign language is when you are young," D'Annunzio said.

Kathy Fuerst, chairwoman of the curriculum committee, added that the group chose a standard elementary curriculum to ensure that students are given the skills they need to be successful in future advanced levels.

"A basic comfort zone is formed by exposing children to Spanish at an early level," Fuerst said.

The county board of education approved the hiring of six new Spanish teachers Aug. 16 as part of its 2004-05 budget.

Grady A. Brown Elementary School was the only elementary school in the district with a Spanish teacher on staff before this year.

"This is the first time in probably 10 years we've offered foreign language in all of our elementary schools," said Libbie Hough, chairwoman for the board of education.

All six teachers have begun teaching at the schools, she added.

Donald Cason, a Spanish teacher at Grady A. Brown, said it is exciting to see students at the elementary level begin to learn and communicate in a second language.

Cason, who started teaching in March, said he tries to make lessons as fun as possible and organize them around more than just learning the language.

The new teachers have been hired, but Hough said the existing middle- and high-school-level curriculums now need to be adjusted.

"There needs to be vertical planning," she said. "Now kids will be coming into the middle schools having had five or six years of exposure to the Spanish language."

The Spanish curriculum committee has suggested integrating the Spanish curriculum with other courses such as learning social studies in Spanish, Fuerst said.

The growing Latino population was a factor in the decision to hire additional Spanish teachers.

D'Annunzio said 5.1 percent of county students are of Latino descent.

Community response to the program has been positive, said Hector Perez, executive director for El Centro Latino. "For Latino children, this gives them a friend in the school system."

The six new teachers have met to share their curriculum and exchange ideas in hopes of ensuring that each student is gaining the same basic knowledge of Spanish, Fuerst said.

Next summer, the committee will continue to work on and develop the program even more.

"My only concern is I wish we could expose students to the Spanish language and its culture even more," Fuerst said.

Staff Writer Liz Stanley contributed to this article.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.