Spanish Immersion Class in HEB ISD?

Updated on February 10, 2009
R.B. asks from Bedford, TX
5 answers

Has anyone been through or currently involved with the Spanish Immersion Program in HEB ISD?
If so, I would appreciate your thoughts/concerns/praises.
Thank you.

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B.B.

answers from Dallas on

Is this the dual language program you're asking about?
I'm a former bilingual teacher/Spanish teacher and now I work with students from home. One of my students is in the dual lanugage program at his school district. I'm not sure about HEB ISD or how they are implementing the dual language program but in general these programs have been really hard to apply. Now we might be talking about different programs since you mentioned "Spanish immersion" but I'm thinking it's the dual language. Anyway, I could go ooon and ooon so feel free to email me if you have any questions. ____@____.com
Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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S.K.

answers from Dallas on

Hi, R.! I cannot speak highly enough about the HEB school district or the Spanish Immersion program in which both of my daughters are involved! My husband and I were students and are now parents within the district (which was a very intentional decision) and do not believe there's a better district in TX. In fact, HEB was recently rated the # 1 school district in the state! Based on the current curriculum (which should only get better when changes occur), my daughters will graduate tri-lingual with at least 24 college credit hours because of the incredible programs that HEB offers. Starting in 7th grade, students can take Mandarin Chinese or Hindi all the way through high school. HEB is truly dedicated to making sure all of its students are as well-rounded and prepared for college and life in general as much as possible; hence, HEB offers MANY incredible programs to its students. What so many people don't understand about Spanish Immersion is that it's NOT just about teaching children Spanish. I have a friend who didn't put her children in the program because she believes that if you live in the United States you should speak English. Though I agree with that sentiment, it's very naive. That's just not realistic anymore. But here's perhaps THE key to the Spanish Immersion program: It DOES NOT MATTER that your child is learning Spanish. What matters is that your child is learning HOW TO LEARN A LANGUAGE! Which language is really insignificant. Of course, because we live in TX, knowing Spanish is a HUGE advantage. But possibly the biggest advantage to this program is that children's brains are being taught how to learn a language. My daughters will begin learning a third language in 7th grade because they'll have that many more options when they're looking at colleges and considering careers. There aren't many school districts that offer such amazing programs. Please visit the HEB ____@____.com to learn more about this awesome, extremely unique school district. As for the test grades that so many people claim are sub-par in comparison to the English-only classes, that is absolutely not true in our district. In fact, this year, my sixth-grader's Spanish Immersion class's Science MAP Test scores were BETTER than any of the other sixth-grade classes. Additionally, there are only a handful of students who have been identified as Gifted and Talented in her class of 25, so the argument can't be made that this is not a class of average students. It absolutely is! The Spanish Immersion Program is in its eighth year and, so far, the Spanish Immersion students have typically done better or at least as well as their peers in all aspects of their academic careers, including their testing abilities, social skills, etc. Perhaps the most important component in our decision to enroll our daughters in this program was the research that's been done indicating that, even though test scores may drop in the beginning, starting in or around the third grade, the Immerison students' scores on general knowledge tests were generally BETTER than their peers, who are in only English-speaking classes. These tests are all given in English. The Spanish Immersion students take the exact same tests as their peers. Furthermore, this same research indicates that learning another language at such a young age engages the brain in ways that it would not otherwise be utilized. Perhaps the biggest personal testiment I can offer to you is that we are so pleased with the program that we enrolled our younger daughter in it after our older daughter had been in the program for five years. PLEASE do not hesitate to contact me if you'd like more specific information or if there are any other questions that I can answer. I wish your family the very best of luck and HIGHLY recommend the Spanish Immersion program, as well as the school that my daughters attend.

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S.R.

answers from Dallas on

We are also considering this program for our daughter and had some concerns. We spoke to her teacher and she said that stats are showing that by the time the kids are in the program reach 3rd grade, they are scoring low on their TAKS tests. She explained that the reading and writing part of academics is put off onto parents more so because they don't have the time to do it in class. That is all I know.

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J.J.

answers from Dallas on

I was able to substitute in a 3rd grade class with this program implemented in HEB. I found these students to be more intelligent, engaged, and motivated more thatn a regular 3rd grade class. My 15 year old son had been in the district all his life, and I have only high regards for the district as a whole.

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R.L.

answers from Dallas on

Hi R., my husband and I have enrolled my daughter into the spanish immersion program for first grade next year. We have heard great things such as what Shelli wrote about. The main thing that stuck out to us besides the fact of learning a whole other language is that it teaches children to use the left side of their brains. Whereas, typically we use the right. It forces them to not only answer the question, but think and understand the question before answering it. We do understand that we'll need to work with her english skills at home which is worth it to us. Good luck on making your decision.

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