Jones Spanish Immersion Magnet Elementary School

Jones Spanish Immersion Magnet Elementary School

¡Hola! iLa puerta està abierta para ti!

In keeping with the mission of our school, the staff and parents of the Spanish Immersion Magnet Program at David D. Jones Elementary School, seek to provide a well-rounded education whereby students will value knowledge, become independent readers and develop critical thinking skills in order to become productive global citizens of the world. We strive to instill respect and understanding by demonstrating a positive interest in learning about diverse peoples, their language, cultures, and ways of life. We expect all students to function at or above grade level. Students will use the Spanish language as a vehicle to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as various technological skills. Through a wide variety of curricula utilizing the Spanish language, students will become effective participants in a global community as they gain knowledge of the history, culture and customs of the Hispanic world. It is the goal of the Spanish Immersion Program at Jones Elementary to prepare our students for their future by:

• Becoming proficient in a second language
• Providing a diverse, quality, rigorous education
• Appreciating the Hispanic diversity of history as b\well as that of cultural expressions, including religious celebrations, literature, the arts, social customs and values
• Realizing the importance of personal involvement and active citizenship in relation to international problems and contemporary issues.
• Using all available technological tools and resources
• Enabling all students , access to information which in turn will allow them to explore, create, and solve problems in preparation for life-long learning in global society
• Developing their understanding about the United States connections with Spanish countries around the world and how they impact us
• Preparing them to work successfully in multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society
• Examining the changes occurring within our society due to the growth of America’s Hispanic population as well as other ethnic groups.

Program Description: The Jones Spanish Immersion Program provides a total immersion language experience in a multicultural setting for pupils whose parents would like them to have the advantage of becoming proficient in two languages- English and Spanish- by the time they complete the kindergarten through grade five sequence of the program.

The Spanish Language Immersion Program located at Jones Elementary School, 502 South Street, Greensboro, NC 27406, has become a model for other schools in North Carolina and in surrounding states. This exemplary and rigorous program has grown from one class of 12 students in 1990 to 20 classes 465 students in 2012. Children learn the Spanish language naturally in everyday classroom conversational situations and through subject content instruction. This makes language learning more meaningful to them and helps them develop listening comprehension, spontaneous verbal expression, reading, and writing skills. Culture plays an important role in our program. In addition to emphasis on customs traditions, celebrations, and the history of the many Hispanic cultures, there is also a very strong focus our international connections.

We are a magnet program within a traditional school setting. We offer the language Immersion program for grades K through 5th grade. Families who to attend Jones Immersion outside the school’s attendance zone district are placed in a lottery. Our waiting list is often quite extensive. Children may enter the program in Kindergarten and first grade only. Children who live in the school district and choose not to participate in the Immersion program are provided the same cultural experiences as well as Spanish lessons one day a week. Our Immersion students often continue in the Spanish Immersion program at the middle school level (Aycock Middle).

Our student body is comprised a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, races, and ethnic groups. Our staff represents a blend of American and Hispanic backgrounds, with teachers from Spanish Speaking Countries. The cultural mix found in our student body and staff dovetails beautifully with our dual focus of language learning and multiculturalism.

Spanish Immersion Curriculum: The curriculum is basically the same for pupils in this program as it is in all other Guilford County elementary schools in that we follow the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (Common Core Standards). Students study reading and language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, but all are taught in Spanish. Therefore, our pupils learn to understand, speak, read, and write in Spanish as well as English.

In kindergarten and first grade – through regular teaching activities – vocabulary, short sentences, and passive comprehension of the second language are stressed. Our teachers speak Spanish while making use of many visual aids and a great deal of body language. Although the children may use English, they are encouraged to use the Spanish vocabulary and expressions with which they are comfortable. Students learn to read in Spanish and are expected to make consistent use of the Spanish expressions, vocabulary and structures. All classroom procedures and subject content instruction are in Spanish. The only exceptions are the special classes of Art, Music, Media Center, Technology, and Physical Education. With regard to English reading, parents of kindergarten and first graders are expected to “teach” and model reading and writing in English…at home. By the end of first grade most of our Immersion students are reading on grade level in English and slightly higher in Spanish.

At the second grade level, English language arts are introduced for approximately 60 minutes per day. All other content instruction, including reading and language arts in the second language, continues to be taught in Spanish. By now, the vast majority of our students are reading at or above grade level in English and Spanish by the end of second grade.

In grades 3 through 5, the format remains very similar. English continues to focus on developing reading and writing skills. This formula has consistently prepared our students to acquire the skills necessary to be successful students. Our students have always fared very favorably on the District’s assessments and End of Grade Tests administered by the state; which are administered in English.

¡Yo respire… Yo bailo… Yo vivo… el español! Do you?