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Start a Successful K-8 Spanish Program
in Your School District, Diocese, or Network
Spanish Program for School Districts

An effective K-8 Spanish language program will deliver a significant academic advantage for your students and
deepen the connection to your community.

But few school districts know how to start one.

It's time to create a win
for your most invested stakeholders.

PARENTS

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Get Students & Parents Raving

TEACHERS

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Attract & Retain Top Teachers

COMMUNITY LEADERS

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Create a Win for Community Leaders

School District / Diocese / Network Guide to Starting a K-8 Spanish Language Program

9th grade is too late to start learning a foreign language if the goal is to become highly functional with a second language – at a job, in the community, in a conversation. 

But most K-8 Spanish language programs fail because there is no progression, no reinforcement, and no immersive instruction for the students.

In most schools there is very little consistency in which grade levels offer Spanish classes, and very little hope of success for teachers who dream of developing highly-functional Spanish speakers. 

The lack of success and lack of hope leads to major teacher attrition… 

70% of Spanish teachers don’t make it past 2 years!

So how do we reverse this trend? 

Public school districts, Catholic diocese, and charter school networks must take the lead in implementing a quality Spanish curriculum with immersive Spanish classes taught by well-trained, well-prepared instructors in the K-8 grade levels.

Here's how we do it...

Table of Contents: (click to navigate)

🔗  PARENTS – Why do parents care about K-8 Spanish Language programs?

🔗  TEACHERS – Why do teachers care about K-8 Spanish Language programs?

🔗  COMMUNITY LEADERS – Why do community leaders care about K-8 Spanish Language programs?

🔗  START A PROGRAM– How to start a K-8 Spanish Language program from scratch.

🔗  FIX A PROGRAM – How to fix an existing K-8 Spanish Language program.

🔗  THE MODEL PROGRAM – What an ideal K-8 Spanish Language program looks like.

Get your students and their parents raving with excitement. . .
because of your K-8 Spanish Language Program.

  • An effective foreign language program is the #1 initiative parents want added to their children's education.
  • You won't hear parents raving about how great the math, science, and grammar programs are at their children's school. Those are basic courses – the minimum expectation for every school.
  • Students and their parents equate excellence in education with specialized learning initiatives, such as STEM, music and art, or foreign language fluency programs.

Don’t settle for basic education in your school. Be exceptional! 

Fluency in a 2nd language is one of the most practical and valuable skills you can add to a person’s life (which is why every other country in the world makes it a primary focus). Globally speaking, being multilingual is a primary requirement of being “educated”. 

Start a K-8 Spanish Program to get your students and their parents raving with excitement! 

Additional Reading

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Uniting Parents and Teachers Using a High-Performing Spanish Language Program

At the heart of every successful education journey is an impactful partnership between parents and teachers. This bond propels students forward, enriches their learning experience, and sets the stage for life-long success. We recognize that the absence of a strong parent-teacher relationship can lead to confusion, miscommunication, and poor student performance.   This is why […]

Attract and retain top teachers. . .
because of your K-8 Spanish Language Program.

  • Spanish-speaking educators and professionals typically get offered Spanish teaching positions at elementary schools without having any experience and without being given any of the curriculum, resources, or support they will need to be successful.
  • These teachers are forced to spend their nights and weekends searching the internet for resources, games, and videos to keep their students' attention, which is exhausting.
  • Teachers dream of having a program that uses immersive instruction to activate learning, offers consistent reinforcement of existing skills, and methodically introduces new concepts.

You have the power to prevent teacher burnout and turnover!

Top teachers flock to the school districts, administrators, and principals who make them feel supported. You will win the admiration of your teachers when they see you investing in them and their students' success, not politics.  

Start a K-8 Spanish Program in your district, diocese, or network to attract and retain top teachers! 

Additional Reading

A Spanish language program can strengthen the partnership between teachers and staff.

Strengthening the Partnership Between Teachers and Administrators Using a High-Performing Spanish Language Program

At the core of every thriving school lies a powerful partnership between teachers and administrators. This alliance propels students forward, enriches their learning experiences, and lays the foundation for greater social confidence. Without a robust partnership between teachers and staff, miscommunication, teacher burnout, and increased turnover rates can damage a school’s culture, destroy the language […]

Create a win for community leaders to celebrate. . .
because of your K-8 Spanish Language Program.

  • Community leaders are caught in the middle of sharp cultural divides that have spiraled out of control. Communities are becoming more and more divided with little hope in sight.
  • When a language barrier exists in a community, it is one of the top contributors to division, isolation, and lack of opportunity.
  • There is no public policy that can help heal language barriers and cultural divides.

You can be the community leader who is taking action and creating change!

Become a galvanizing leader by developing a community that can communicate and connect more effectively. A bilingual community will strengthen the workforce, bridge divides, and heal communities.

Start a K-8 Spanish Program to create a huge win your community leaders can celebrate! 

Additional Reading

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How a High-Performing Spanish Language Program Can Inspire Students and Impact the Local Community

The impact of a high-performing Spanish language program goes beyond the classroom. It can inspire students, uplift the local community, and connect students with their communities in new ways. When Spanish speaking students are connected to the community, everyone can benefit from hands-on application, real-world examples, and role models.   When the community is involved, students […]

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How to start a K-8 Spanish Language program from scratch.

Successfully implementing a new language program in less than a year would be impossible, right? 

Wrong. 

It’s entirely possible, especially if you follow our strategic 3-phase approach:

  • Phase 1 Evaluate and build the program.
  • Phase 2 – Implement the program.
  • Phase 3 – Define results and raise community awareness.

With our process, you have the flexibility to move fast (30 - 60 days) or take a more gradual approach (1 -3 years), based on the funds and staff you have committed.

Be sure to pay attention to these critical factors as you implement your Spanish program so that you set your stakeholders up for success:

  • Get buy-in from your principals. In our experience, when a principal is on board, it's a game changer for success rates.
  • Provide ongoing training and support for your teachers. Teachers should be offered support that includes both live and video training sessions.
  • Include training for yourself and your administrators. Administrators should be fully prepared to support the efforts of their teachers, communicate clearly with parents, and raise community awareness.

START A SPANISH PROGRAM WITH US and CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS with Students, Parents, Teachers, and Community Leaders!

Additional Reading

K-8 Spanish language program

How to Start a K-8 Spanish Language Program from Scratch 

Embarking on the exciting journey of introducing a K-8 Spanish language program within your school district is a monumental step towards enriching the educational experience for your students. At SpanishCurriculum.com, we understand the unique opportunities and challenges that come with building a language program from scratch.   In this blog, we’ll walk you through the essential […]

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How to fix an existing K-8 Spanish Language program.

Fixing the existing Spanish language programs across your district will rely on the same three critical factors listed above for starting a new program from scratch, but the approach will be slightly different. 

Follow our strategic 3-phase approach for fixing your current Spanish programs:

  • PHASE 1 – Assess current programs, their limitations, and the pain points. 
  • PHASE 2 – Create and implement an improvement plan with refreshed resources and training. 
  • PHASE 3 – Define results and raise community awareness. 

The difference in a 3-part phased approach focused on fixing what is in place is that it should begin with an assessment of the existing program.

Be sure to pay attention to these critical factors as you fix your existing Spanish program: 

  • Get buy-in from your principals. When making shifts in a program, principals need to be educated and excited about what those changes will bring to the students and community.
  • Provide ongoing training and support for your teachers. Teachers should be offered support that includes both live and video training sessions as they deliver an enhanced program.
  • Include training for yourself and your administrators. Administrators should be fully prepared to support the efforts of their teachers, communicate clearly with parents, and raise community awareness as they support the shifts in their Spanish program. 

FIX YOUR EXISTING SPANISH PROGRAM WITH US and CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS with Students, Parents, Teachers, and Community Leaders! 

Additional Reading

fixing your existing K-8 Spanish language program

How to Fix an Existing K-8 Spanish Language Program

Deciding to fix an existing K-8 Spanish language program within your school district is a monumental step towards enriching the educational experience of your students. First, congratulations! You have already staffed teachers, protected institutional hours, and created a schedule to deliver language learning to your students. Don’t abandon what you have already started. Leverage your […]

What an Ideal K-8 Spanish Language program looks like.

Make no mistake, the goal for your Spanish Language program should be to produce students who can speak Spanish. Being able to translate a list of vocabulary words from Spanish to English IS NOT the goal. Success is learning life-long communication skills in Spanish, instilling a love of the language and curiosity for the world, not memorizing vocabulary lists and translating sentences.

When you create an ideal Spanish language program, you will watch in amazement as your students develop life-long skills in all 4 areas of language:

  • Listening skills in Spanish
  • Speaking skills in Spanish
  • Reading skills in Spanish
  • Writing skills in Spanish

How amazing would it be to celebrate that type of success with students, parents, your teachers, and your community leaders? 

The ideal K-8 Spanish language program is:

  • Consistent – a lack of consistency from year to year will torpedo the retention of skills and content by students.
  • Developmentally appropriate – you can’t force high school language curriculum on an elementary aged learner.
  • Designed to expand – each grade level should add complexity and expand vocabulary in the same way a person learns their native language.

Key concept – students must practice inside the classroom what they would be expected to do outside the classroom. That is why our curriculum and training prepares teachers to teach Spanish in Spanish.

School districts, diocese, and networks have too much on their plates already. They are busy putting out fires. Implementing a successful Spanish language program for K-8 students is likely not a priority. But it should be! 

Developing students into strong Spanish speakers can give administrators a major success story to celebrate with students, parents, teachers, and community leaders.

Don’t avoid the initiative that could provide a major win for your district, diocese, or network over the next 3+ years. 

We make it incredibly easy to start a successful K-8 Spanish language program!

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Get Expert Advice

Schedule a call with our team. We’ll guide you to the right solutions for your school’s unique needs.

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Build a Custom Solution

We will help you move fast (30-60 days) or gradual (1-3 years) with our strategic 3-phase approach and hands-on support.

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Empower Your Teachers

Get everything you need to build a Spanish program that works. And empower your teachers—and students—to succeed.