Sixteen non-Latino Bedford elementary students complete six-year “Spanish Immersion” program

by Chad Jones

Sixteen students who have been enrolled in the District’s elementary "Spanish Immersion" program at Bedford Heights Elementary School for the last six years are ready to take on more second language challenges.

Next August, when they enter Bedford Junior High as seventh graders, they will have already earned a Spanish I credit and will therefore be enrolled in Spanish II. What's more, the bilingual sixteen will even take their Social Studies class in Spanish.

Back in 2001, these students began the first day of first grade taking all their core classes in Spanish and were completely immersed in the language every day of each year, from first through sixth grades.

Brad Mengwasser, principal at Bedford Heights Elementary School, said the students and their families are to be commended for their commitment into unknown territory.

“Each of the families was a trailblazer in committing their students to the task of being immersed in Spanish and also being the first people to go through the entire program as it has developed over the last six years,” Mengwasser said. “The students have been enriched with a foreign language and have also been able to meet all of the state's expectations in regard to assessments taken in English.”

Bettye Edgington, advanced academics coordinator for the district, said preliminary plans for these students’ future language studies, from seventh through 12th grade, have been drawn up for consideration.

“We will try to give them lots of choices, capitalizing on their great background in Spanish,” Edgington said. “It is still a plan right now, mainly because this is uncharted territory for us, and it is difficult to forecast.”

On the district's website, two sixth grade Spanish Immersion students are featured in a video (available here), discussing their initial fears about taking classes in Spanish and how they persevered.

Keohane said she began to feel successful after a couple of years in the program. “I think third grade was when it all started coming together and I really got how to speak Spanish,” she said.

Parents are also pleased with the progress. Kristina Connor has two children enrolled in the program, a daughter in sixth grade and a son in fifth grade. Her culturally diverse family, with relatives who are German, Russian, British, Mexican, and Italian, illustrated the importance of knowing more than one language and one culture.

“I believe that being exposed to a foreign language is the first step to understanding different cultures,” she said. “We do live in a global economy, and the added benefit of a second language is critical for jumpstarting and competing in the job markets that our children will face. My family’s successes can be attributed to their language skills, and now my children are well on their way to being bilingual.”

Principal Mengwasser said that success is already evident in these 12-year-olds.

“An important aspect of the student's progress is that they have a base for continuing their Spanish education in junior high,” he said. “These students have received Pre-AP reading in elementary school, and the rigor of working and producing in two languages has helped them be responsible for their own learning. These students have acquired a skill that will benefit them as they grow into productive citizens in our culturally diverse state.”

Info from HEB ISD