ISLA (Immersion for Spanish Language Acquisition) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides a safe and nurturing environment for native Spanish speaking children with the purpose of promoting literacy in the language of Spanish. Through this cost-free program, ISLA fosters a sense of pride and love for their native culture and language. The all-Spanish speaking curriculum encompasses research-based strategies, while meeting Latin American quality curricular standards, and promotes transference of skills from Spanish to English learning.
Nuestra Misión Nuestra misión es promover las habilidades de escritura y lectura en español, con el objetivo de ayudarles a los niños académicamente como futuros ciudadanos bilingües para nuestra sociedad global y multicultural. ISLA fomenta un sentido de orgullo y amor por la cultura hispanoamericana. Ofrecemos un ambiente seguro y educativo donde aprenderán a leer y escribir en español. Queremos que los niños sepan que ellos son individuales y que cada uno vale.
President and treasurer of ISLA, Aerin Benavides, originally began her plan to design this Saturday heritage language program in The way each child learns language will be observed just as closely as the language acquisition. The same will be true for history and culture learning. Once the method of learning is known then the teacher may design the next lesson specifically for the children.
In summary, the course work will be language and culture integrated, completely in Spanish, constructivist in nature, varied in technological support, and depend upon initial evaluations for individual design. Students will work closely with teachers in small groups or individually. The evaluation of the program as a whole, and student progress will be made along the way to insure responsiveness to learner needs.