Education

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ― There is a lot of talk these days about the importance of early childhood education. Studies show that half the students entering kindergarten are not prepared for it. At least one Pre-K program is giving students a big head start, not only on their A, B, Cs, but on making their way through the multi-cultural world they live in.

Like a lot of early childhood education programs, Joyce Preschool in Minneapolis offers children a head start on their education and socialization skills. Still, there's something very unique about the effort at Joyce: It takes a bilingual approach.

"It's very rare that you bring together families from very different socio-economic backgrounds, from English and Spanish-speaking families, and bring them all together in one school," said Laura Johansson, executive director at Joyce Preschool.

They're often called immersion schools and there are quite few for learning one language. Joyce combines two and starts early.

"Most of the brain synapses are formed in the zero to five years, so by the age five most of your brain connections have already started forming," said Johansson. "If you look at countries like China or the region of Europe all of those students are bilingual, if not trilingual by the time they're in early grades."

Paola Nunez Obitz enrolled her children at Joyce, and found the involvement of parents helps them, too.

"If you don't speak the language, you pretty much feel lost, you feel like you're a ghost outside of the system. You don't know how to enter the system or how to navigate it," said Obitz.

Joyce parents are encouraged to learn with their children by attending parents' nights or helping out during class time.

"Now I feel like I can communicate and be part of my kid's school and to be able to voice out what I have to say if I need to tell my concerns or see that ways that I can help," said Obitz.

Joyce is a private preschool. About half the students get help paying tuition, but even those who can pay are on a waiting list.

"I think it's a perfect opportunity when they're little sponges at this age," said Steve Gels, who grew up in Florida.

He and his wife discovered how big the world was after joining the Peace Corps. They wanted their children to learn that a lot earlier.

"I think at a younger age kind of up kids to the idea that there's a lot of different ways that people do things in the world, there's a lot of different cultures and it's a pretty rich world that we live in," said Gels.

It's not just about teaching children a second language, it's about exposing them to different cultures and, for some, preserving relationships that could suffer with a language barrier.

"It's the saddest thing to see a child who can't speak to grandparent later on ... not only that but those kids need that support going through school," said Johansson.

Four-year-old Sophia is already bilingual.

"I speak in Spanish and English," she said.

Sophia also explained that if someone talks to her in English, she speaks English, and when someone talks to her in Spanish, she speaks Spanish.

"It's important for everyone in this country to learn English, but what we're saying is learn English, but don't give up your Spanish," said Johansson.

Joyce students enter kindergarten ready. That helps save on special education costs and improves grades. It also improves delinquency and drop-out rates.

"What a great opportunity to speak more languages, and be able to connect with more cultures, more countries and be a global citizen," said Obitz. "You know, now they have this great gift. They can speak both languages, and in this global economy and diverse community. What a great gift."

While there is plenty of controversy about immigration, there doesn't seem to be much disagreement about the philosophy behind Joyce. The better prepared all students are heading into school, the better prepared they are to contribute to the society in which we all live.

 

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