Bilingual Class a Success for Shakopee's West Junior High 9th-Graders

It's been four years since Shakopee Public Schools introduced a Spanish for Native Speakers class at Shakopee's West Junior High School.

The course is designed to help Latino ninth-graders improve their Spanish skills so that they can improve their English, the Star Tribune reported. In addition, the class has cultural components, such as celebrating holidays like El Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) and introducing students to the writing of Spanish-speaking novelists and poets.

“There’s a lot of research to support that a student can’t really be literate in a second language until they’re literate in a first language,” teacher Amanda Marek told the Star Tribune.

The class has been successful at West Junior, and this year the district added a section at East Junior High. Next year, there are plans to offer the class to students at Shakopee High School and to eighth-graders.

“It’s challenging — you’re used to talking, reading and writing in English,” student Ruben Carrasco told the paper. “Overall, just in learning and speaking the language, I think I’m better.”