Megan's+Post+3.1

After much deliberation, I have decided to research foreign language immersion programs (like those in Alamance and Guilford County schools). In Alamance County, three elementary schools have created the Splash! program, which is a full immersion program that students begin in kindergarten and (will) continue until fifth grade (the program is still very new in this county, as the charter classes are only in second grade). Guilford County has a much more developed immersion program: there are two elementary magnet schools (Jones and Kirkman), one middle school magnet program (Aycock), and one high school that participate in the program (Grimsley has an IB program, which is technically not immersion). These programs seem well-developed, and they graduate a cohort of students each year. I think that in order for students in Alamance County to keep the language basis in Spanish that they’ve gained in K-5, they need to be part of an immersion setting in the secondary environment. Since the charter classes are so young, there are still three years to create a sound (in research and pedagogy) program for these students. I originally thought that I would write a letter to the superintendent of ABSS, Dr. Randy Bridges, but I feel like a letter might be too limited a space for me to make a strong argument. My product will be a report outlining why I think students in the immersion setting need a program at the secondary level and what this program should look like, following research and best practices. Questions: 1. What do you think of my topic? 2. What is included in a formal report? Have any of you written one before?

Megan -- Your topic is great! I really like how you've taken your major and interest of Education and incorporated it into not only this project, but also into benefiting the Elon area. I'm from Lexington, Kentucky, and we have foreign language immersion programs available for students from kindergarten all the way up to eighth grade. By the time I attended school with some of these kids in high school and had Spanish classes with them, it was easy to tell that they had a firm grasp on the language. They easily excelled in my Spanish classes, and many of them took AP Spanish with me at a much younger age. I think your project aims at benefiting Alamance County students in the best way possible, and it makes sense that they would continue these programs into secondary school. Good luck! Emily Mooney