The Board of Education heard a report on the district’s Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES) kindergarten Spanish program at its meeting on Tuesday, November 24.

The pilot kindergarten world language course was approved in the Board of Education’s budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year, with the understanding the board would look into expanding the program year by year to the higher grade levels.

Head O’ Meadow Elementary School Principal Barbara Gasparine, who coordinates the FLES program schedule, explained teacher Marianne Grenier visits kindergarten classrooms across the district once a week for 30 minutes in each class.

“[She] speaks only in Spanish from the minute she walks in the door,” said Ms Gasparine.

Ms Gasparine said the program is “full emersion.” The kindergarten teacher and any other educators in the room assist with the lesson and expand on the lesson throughout the rest of the week, thanks to Ms Grenier supplying a lesson plan at the start of the week.

Ms Grenier told the school board she goes to all four elementary schools and is “welcomed by 243 wonderful children who just love this class. And it is so much fun for me.”

Students, Ms Grenier said, have been working on greetings, pleasantries, colors, and numbers.

Videos from lessons at each of the elementary schools were shared with the board. Board members watched Sandy Hook Elementary School kindergarten students sing a song in Spanish, Hawley Elementary School and Head O’ Meadow Elementary School students count in Spanish, and Middle Gate Elementary School students introduce themselves in Spanish.

Ms Grenier said the building teachers and principals have been “fabulous.”

“It’s a joint effort,” Ms Grenier said, adding that the school educators are her partners in the classroom.

Board member John Vouros said the Spanish program has inspired “at least 15 mothers” to share how phenomenal the program is for their children.

“They tell me why, and it is initiated by the children when they come home. They don’t have to say, ‘What did you do in Spanish class today?’” said Mr Vouros. “They tell whomever.”

Board member Michelle Ku also noted the number of parents she has heard “glowing about the program.”

Saying parents have been asking for a foreign language at the lower levels for many budget cycles, board member Debbie Leidlein said she knows many probably did not expect the board to start in kindergarten to expand the program up the grade levels.

“I think that starting at a very young age and growing the program is definitely the way to go,” Ms Leidlein said, “but what a disservice to our children we would be doing if we did not include it in next year and grow it into the first grade. So I encourage us all to keep that in mind during the next budget session.”