Now being able to speak Spanish is viewed as a plus. Lydia Hawk has a large population of Spanish speakers, approximately 25%. She has noticed that the program is already building self-esteem and confidence. Photo courtesy: North Thurston Public SchoolsĬiera has been teaching at Lydia Hawk for several years. Young learners find challenges and rewards in the dual language program at Lydia Hawk Elementary. “I can communicate completely with families,” she says. Diana’s Spanish fluency is also helpful to parents with limited English skills. Diana sees these youngsters blossoming into adults who have more skills for better jobs.
Their world is expanding,” she smiles.Įnglish speakers learn about another culture. “So many children can benefit from this enrichment program. She bubbles over with joy when talking about the Dual Language Program. She understands the reality of the challenges. “I am a mom with bilingual kids,” says Diana, who is originally from Colombia. Kathleen is pleased with the support received from the district as well as the instructional coach in the building. Both teachers are skilled in language development and skill building for these hungry learners. These students are young and only beginning to learn about appropriate classroom behavior, manipulating a pencil and working with others. Ciera teaches English literacy and math (all in English) while Diana teaches Spanish literacy and science (all in Spanish). Half the students speak English at home, and the other half have access to Spanish. Photo courtesy: North Thurston Public Schools Serena is back at school loving both Spanish and English learning at Lydia Hawk Elementary. She was thrilled her aunt used Spanish, not realizing that it was her primary language. For example, Serena Stringer, a student, talked with her Spanish speaking aunt on the phone. “I am not fluent, but some is coming back to me now.”įamilies can continue cultural ties. The remote classroom provided Monica with refresher Spanish, and she loved sharing this with her daughter. “My parents didn’t teach me Spanish, but I took it in high school and college,” she adds. Although Monica is Latinx, she did not learn Spanish growing up at home. “I was so excited to get my daughter in the program,” she remembers. Monica Stringer is one of the Dual Language parents. “I have two strong teachers who persevered,” she says about the need to attend school via Zoom. The year did begin remotely, though the original plans had been for in-person classrooms. She was instrumental in opening the visionary dual language learning and is enthused with the progress being made by all parties. “My hope is that the program would go all the way to high school,” says Kathleen. These young learners are becoming literate and conversational in two languages and it takes time to build fluency in speaking, reading, and writing. Parents have made commitments for their child to stay with the program at least through the fifth grade. Half of the youngsters live in the Lydia Hawk community and the other 24 students come from other areas of the North Thurston Public Schools (NTPS) district.
Diana Leon and Ciera Henderson are the NTPS’s first dual language teaching team for 48 kindergartners at Lydia Hawk with half the day in English and half the day in Spanish. The new dual language program is embraced by Principal Kathleen Delpino and her team-teaching duo of Diana Leon and Ciera Henderson. Half of each day is spent in each language. Two classes of students began the school year in North Thurston Public Schools’ new dual language program. Kindergarteners at Lydia Hawk Elementary are learning in both Spanish and English.