Partial Immersion Program
Several years ago, the vision for Foothills was to provide Spanish immersion classes for all students in each grade level. During the 2020-2021 school year, all 4th grade classes are Spanish immersion classes, and there is a mixture of traditional English and Spanish immersion classes in grades 1, 2, 5 and in Kindergarten.
Based upon a variety of factors such as preferences of families, maximizing the support for students new to Foothills who have no prior Spanish experience, a loss of Spanish instruction for students through a specials class, and staffing and scheduling challenges, Foothills Elementary will no longer be moving towards Spanish immersion for all students. This change will be phased in over time. Eventually, once all changes have been phased in, there will be one Spanish immersion class and two traditional English classes at each grade level.
For the 2020-2021 school year, immersion classes at each grade level are as follows:
Kindergarten | One immersion class Two traditional English classes |
First Grade | One immersion class Two traditional English classes |
Second grade |
One immersion class Two traditional English classes
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Third grade | Two immersion classes One traditional English class
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Fourth Grade | Three immersion classes |
Fifth Grade | Two immersion classes One traditional English class
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Instructional Routines for Immersion Classes
Kindergarten | Students in Spanish Immersion classes will receive literacy instruction in English and Spanish. Science and Social Studies will be taught in Spanish. Math will be taught in Spanish. Students in Kindergarten Spanish immersion will have one bilingual teacher. |
First Grade | Students in Spanish Immersion classes will receive literacy instruction in English and Spanish. Science and Social Studies will be taught in Spanish. Math will be taught in Spanish. Students in first grade Spanish immersion will have one bilingual teacher. |
Second grade | Students in Spanish Immersion classes will receive literacy instruction in English. Science and /or Social Studies will be taught in both Spanish and English depending on the unit of study. Math will be taught in Spanish every day. Students in second grade Spanish immersion will have one bilingual teacher. |
Third grade | Students in Spanish Immersion classes will receive literacy instruction in both English and Spanish. Science and/or Social Studies will be taught in Spanish daily. Math will be taught in English. Students in third grade Spanish immersion will share two classrooms and two teachers, or will remain with one bilingual teacher all day. |
Fourth Grade | Students in Spanish Immersion classes will receive literacy instruction in both English and Spanish. Science and/or Social Studies will be taught in Spanish daily. Math will be taught in English. Students in fourth grade Spanish immersion will share two classrooms and two teachers, or will remain with one bilingual teacher for their homeroom, but may switch teachers for math or ELA to allow for flexible grouping. |
Fifth Grade | Students in Spanish Immersion classes will receive literacy instruction in both English and Spanish. Science, Social Studies, and Writing will be taught daily in both Spanish and English. Math will be taught in English. Students in fifth grade Spanish immersion will remain with one bilingual teacher for their homeroom, but may switch teachers for math or ELA to allow for flexible grouping. |
Assessment
Students in the Spanish Immersion program will be assessed throughout the school year to determine their language proficiency. Students will be formally assessed in their language development at the end of the first and third quarter, and assessment results will be communicated to parents at conferences.
Role of Parents
• Enrich English language development through vocabulary and reading at home each day.
• Support and encourage your child by celebrating his/her accomplishments.
• Seek out opportunities to use Spanish language skills outside of school.
• Volunteer as a classroom helper--the ability to speak Spanish is not required.
• Parents do not need to speak Spanish for their child to be successful in the Spanish Immersion Program
