Spanish Immersion Comes to St. Pete

St. Pete's first Spanish immersion school has arrived. St. Petersburg International School will use two highly successful teaching methods -- language immersion and arts-rich instruction -- to put a diverse group of students on the path to becoming bilingual and biliterate in Spanish and English. Opening for the 2019-2020 school year in grades K-4 and gradually expanding to teach students from preschool all the way through 12th grade, the small, independent school will feature a sliding scale for tuition designed to create a socioeconomically diverse student body.

Immersion is used in hundreds of schools across the US and is backed by decades of research as the absolute best practice in foreign language instruction. In an immersion classroom, a language is not taught as a special subject, but is instead used as a vehicle to teach core academic content. Immersion students also spend at least half their instructional time learning in a target language. At St. Petersburg International School, children in kindergarten and first grade will receive nearly 100 percent of their instruction in Spanish. Beginning in 2nd grade, students will spend roughly half of their instructional time in Spanish and half in English, in order to build literacy skills in both languages.

Rather than viewing the arts as something extra and non-essential that needs to be limited at the expense of math, science, and other subjects, St. Pete International views the arts as an integral component of a rigorous academic program. The "A" was added to turn STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) into STEAM for a reason -- the Arts are highly engaging and permit students to develop their creativity and build their innovation skills. At the same time, the arts provide students with important therapeutic outlets to explore their passions and speak out for what they believe in. St. Petersburg International School will use the arts as a primary vehicle to teach students core academic content -- including math and science.

The school's inquiry-based curriculum will feature explorations of peoples and cultures worldwide, especially those commonly left out of history books and curricula in the United States. St. Petersburg International School will emphasize the cultivation of a global mindset that acknowledges multiple perspectives of complex issues, an appreciation of the world’s rich diversity, and a commitment to working to solve social, economic, and environmental problems faced worldwide.

St. Petersburg International School's application period runs from January 2 - January 31. To request an application or to simply learn more about the program, interested parents may call 727-320-2578 or email: admin@saintpeteinternational.org. The school's website is www@saintpeteinternational.org.