Immersion and Multilingual Learners

Half-day Spanish Immersion Preschool offers a pre-kindergarten experience for families interested in Spanish Immersion.

Children have a great capacity for second language comprehension at this age. Children in Spanish Immersion Preschool become comfortable hearing Spanish spoken and will begin to understand phrases and directions in Spanish. Students learn preschool skills and begin to use the Spanish language.

Spanish Immersion Preschool is located at Woodcrest Spanish Immersion school.

Learn more about preschool options.

Woodcrest Elementary Spanish Immersion offers students in Kindergarten through grade 4 a full immersion experience with speakers of English and Spanish. Intense exposure to a foreign language at these grade levels provides necessary language skills for students to access curriculum in the upper grades.

At Woodcrest, students begin their path to becoming bilingual and biliterate in Spanish and English by the time they graduate from high school.

• Students follow the same curriculum offered at the other Spring Lake Park Schools elementary schools except all core content is taught in Spanish. Each day, 90 percent of instruction is in Spanish and 10 percent is in English.
• Students learn to understand, speak, read, and write in Spanish, increasing fluency levels each year they are in the program.
• Students experience a wide variety of world views as they are immersed in a school culture that includes international teachers and support staff. All classroom teachers are bilingual, and some are multilingual. International teachers are all first language speakers of Spanish who offer language modeling through their multiple interactions with students during the school day and during extracurricular events outside of the school day. Support staff – paraprofessionals, office staff, cafeteria staff, and the principal – are bilingual.
• Students begin formal English instruction in grade three.
• Data from Minnesota’s comprehensive reading and math tests continue to show immersion students are performing at an equal or higher level as non-immersion students on these assessments by the 6^th or 7^th grade.

Students who attend Woodcrest Elementary Spanish Immersion have the opportunity to continue their Spanish Immersion experience in the elementary model at Westwood Intermediate School in grades 5 and 6. By the end of grade 5, most students will be functionally proficient in writing, reading and speaking in Spanish.

Heritage Spanish Speakers who did not join immersion programming at kindergarten have an additional opportunity to join immersion speakers in grade 6. Heritage Spanish speakers may join immersion programming to learn all aspects of their heritage language on their path to not only being bilingual but also biliterate. At this stage, heritage speakers join a full immersion homeroom or pre-juntos programming. 

• Spanish Immersion teams for grades 5 and 6 at Westwood are located near each other with Spanish signage in the learning spaces.
• 70 percent of a student’s day is in Spanish and 30 percent is in English.
• Classes in Spanish include Spanish language arts (core and targeted reading), Math, Science, Social studies, morning meeting.
• Classes in English include English language arts and specialists (art, music, physical education).
• Based on results of a Spanish language assessment, heritage Spanish speakers who want to join immersion programming at grade 6 join either a full immersion homeroom or a pre-Juntos class to start building their reading and writing skills in Spanish.

The Juntos program is a continuation of our elementary immersion programming at the middle school. “Juntos” means “together.” At this point, immersion students whose heritage language is English or Spanish, may be joined by other heritage Spanish speakers interested in developing their reading and writing skills.

Juntos focuses on building academic language in order to prepare students to become biliterate and bilingual by the time they reach graduation. In Juntos, students gain proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish and English along with a deeper understanding of modern and historical cultural influences from Spanish-speaking countries. 

Students may take up to two classes each year in Spanish:

• Grade 7: Core class in Spanish – Social Studies, Elective Class in Spanish – Juntos HS Credit
• Grade 8: Core class in Spanish – Social Studies, Elective Class in Spanish – Juntos II HS Credit

Students who have been involved in the Spring Lake Park Schools Spanish Immersion and Juntos programming are welcomed to Spring Lake Park High School (SLPHS) with a series of rigorous and engaging courses instructed in the target language of Spanish. Unique to our immersion programming journey, high school courses provide an opportunity to meet and extend student's language acquisition.

• Placement in high school courses: In the spring of the 8^th grade year, students take the AAPPL (ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages). Based on results, students are placed in college-level Spanish classes at the high school.
• High school schedule: Students can opt into a class in the target language of Spanish each year at the high school, based on placement test scores. There is also an art elective offered in Spanish as well as internship opportunities.
• College credits: Through our partnership with Minnesota State Mankato, students may earn MNSCU college credits for College Intermediate Spanish 201, 202 and 210. Advanced Placement Spanish Literature and Culture is also offered for college credit potential. Based on results, students may be able to earn college credits as early as 9th grade in college-level Spanish classes at the high school.
• Bilingual seals and certificates: Beginning in 10^th grade, students have an opportunity to earn a bilingual seal or certificate from the state of Minnesota to recognize their proficiency in Spanish. This recognition may result in college-level credits at specific Minnesota colleges and universities.
• Internship opportunities: In the 12^th grade, students have access to additional opportunities for Spanish-speaking internships within the SLP pathways for teacher training, Opportunities in Emergency Care, and business.

Families of students whose heritage language is Spanish may choose to enroll at Woodcrest Spanish Immersion Elementary School. Students may receive English Language Learner services, if they qualify, as they also experience immersion learning. Families should confer with the school to determine if this is a good fit for their student’s learning needs.

Students whose heritage language is Spanish may be eligible to join Juntos programming at Westwood Intermediate and Middle School as early as grade 6. “Juntos” means “together.” Heritage Spanish speakers join together with immersion students who have been in immersion programming since kindergarten.

Juntos focuses on building academic language in order to prepare students to become biliterate and bilingual by the time they reach graduation. In Juntos, students gain proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish and English along with a deeper understanding of modern and historical cultural influences from Spanish-speaking countries. 

Students who have been involved in the Spanish Immersion and Juntos programming are welcomed to Spring Lake Park High School (SLPHS) with a series of rigorous and engaging courses instructed in the target language of Spanish. Unique to our immersion programming journey, high school courses provide an opportunity to meet and extend student's language acquisition.

• Placement in high school courses: In the spring of the 8^th grade year, students take the AAPPL (ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages). Based on results, students are placed in college-level Spanish classes at the high school.
• High school schedule: Students can opt into a class in the target language of Spanish each year at the high school, based on placement test scores. There is also an art elective offered in Spanish as well as internship opportunities.
• College credits: Through our partnership with Minnesota State Mankato, students may earn MNSCU college credits for College Intermediate Spanish 201, 202 and 210. Advanced Placement Spanish Literature and Culture is also offered for college credit potential. Based on results, students may be able to earn college credits as early as 9th grade in college-level Spanish classes at the high school.
• Bilingual seals and certificates: Beginning in 10^th grade, students have an opportunity to earn a bilingual seal or certificate from the state of Minnesota to recognize their proficiency in Spanish. This recognition may result in college-level credits at specific Minnesota colleges and universities.
• Internship opportunities: In the 12^th grade, students have access to additional opportunities for Spanish-speaking internships within the SLP pathways for teacher training, Opportunities in Emergency Care, and business.

Explore course offerings at the high school.

In order to personalize learning for each student, we want to learn as much about them as we can. During the enrollment process, families complete the home language survey. The survey asks about the language(s) the student uses outside of school. We then have conversations with families to learn about their cultural and language background.

Based on what we learn from families we may need to see if there is an opportunity for continued academic English language growth. If appropriate, an English language screener is administered to assess the student’s current English proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening. While a student may have the language needed to interact with peers and follow directions, they may benefit from additional support with the formal and more complex language used in their classes.

In Spring Lake Park Schools, we believe that all teachers are language teachers. Throughout the day, students receiving English learner services will receive instruction in the language needed to access their classes. This instruction may take place in a designated English learner class or through instruction provided within a mainstream classroom.

Students take the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 each year to measure their current English proficiency in listening, reading, speaking and writing. The results of this test are shared with families in the late summer or early fall. A translated version of the score report is available in many different languages. Additionally, a student’s English language teacher can explain the results of the test.

In addition to the ACCESS test, the adults that work with a student will use classroom assignments and observations to determine which strategies to use to help the student grow in their English proficiency. Progress will be shared with families throughout the year.

Providing opportunities for students to continue to use their first language increases a student’s ability to acquire additional languages.

The Minnesota Department of Education has set the criteria for exiting the English Language Learner program. Students continue to receive services until they achieve an overall score of 4.5 on the ACCESS, with no area (listening, reading, speaking, writing) below a 3.5. After a student has exited the program, they will be monitored for two years to ensure they are successful in their classes.