It was history in the making as the Class of 2030 walked across the stage one by one to accept their diplomas from Central School principal Justin Adolph.
The 50 Kindergarten students are in the Dual Language program, which consists of half their day being taught in English and the other half in Spanish — without any translation.
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ROCHELLE — It was history in the making as the Class of 2030 walked across the stage one by one to accept their diplomas from Central School principal Justin Adolph.
The 50 Kindergarten students are in the Dual Language program, which consists of half their day being taught in English and the other half in Spanish — without any translation.
Proud parents, grandparents, and family members filled the gym last Friday at the inaugural graduation ceremony. Adolph remarked how well the school year went.
“I’m so proud of everyone that came together to make this program happen — teachers, board of education, and families,” Adolph said. “While we felt very well prepared heading into the school year, it has gone better than anyone could’ve expected. Teachers and parents have worked together so well to understand dual language and to get our kids off to a great start in this program.”
Andrea Young is the program’s Spanish teacher and shared her thoughts on the student’s progress since the beginning of the school year.
“In the Spanish classroom it has been amazing to see how the English speaking students have progressed. They entered without any Spanish background and they couldn’t understand anything I was saying,” Young said. “Now they understand a large majority of what I am saying. They understand directions and routines and have learned how to figure out what I am talking about by watching my body language, finding cognates, or asking a friend. They have progressed wonderfully.”
Sarah Kennay, Dual Language English Teacher, echoed Young’s sentiments.
“I am delighted with the progress our students have made this year. It has been exciting to finally experience the plans and units we’ve been working on for so long. I am so proud of this group of kids,” Kennay said. “I am constantly amazed by how easily the kids start using the languages they have been learning. There is no self-consciousness involved. They are so excited about every success and not at all worried about any setbacks. We emphasize grit at Central School — we never give up.”
Adolph said planning the program has taken about two years and credits Bilingual Coordinator Idalia Marin with assisting along with support from Todd Prusator, District Superintendent.
“The real work and magic of this has come from our teachers who’ve been on the front line of the planning and implementation of this,” Adolph said. “Now, we’re spending about a year planning the curriculum for each subsequent grade but the initial planning involved much more than just curriculum…we had so many people that we needed to communicate with in order to ensure that everyone had a common understanding of the program.”