Language connects us to others, our community, and to the world. It is through language that we understand and interact with our surroundings, and share our understandings with others. The ability to communicate in additional languages enhances our capacity to be part of the world of human diversity, and to take part in the global community, helping to further our role as responsible citizens.

Allowing our students to begin acquiring an additional world language during their elementary school experience will provide them with enough intensity of language instruction to achieve a moderate fluency and a strong foundation on which to build further language learning. After three to four years of elementary language instruction with 90 minutes per week, a student deemed proficient will be able to communicate on simple topics in the target language. Exposure to another language at the elementary level will help our students make connections between themselves and their community, and will increase their ability to engage in critical thinking as well as enhance their literacy and core content knowledge.