“Juntos” means “together” and the Spring Lake Park Schools Juntos program is a continuation of our elementary immersion programming at the middle school.
Grade 5-6: Westwood Intermediate School
Students who attend Woodcrest Elementary Spanish Immersion (Kindergarten-grade 4) 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, specifically the Juntos program, to learn all aspects of their heritage language on their path to not only being bilingual but also biliterate.
- 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 a pre-Juntos or Juntos class to start building their reading and writing skills in Spanish.
Grade 7-8: Westwood Middle School
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 take 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
Heritage Spanish Speakers
Students whose heritage language is Spanish may be eligible to join Juntos programming at Westwood Intermediate and Middle School as early as grade 6. 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.
