"Bonjour" to French Immersion at Local School

Posted By Les Conklin on Jan 16, 2016

Desert Sun Academy says “Bonjour” to French Immersion!

January 2016

Courtesy of Cave Creek Unified School District

A north Scottsdale elementary school, Desert Sun Academy, will be the first public school in AZ to institute a French Immersion program, slotted to begin August 2016. Seats for this Kinder and First grade program are currently open until the cap is reached. Being a part of Cave Creek Unified School District means that this French Immersion program will follow the same model as its popular Spanish and Chinese Immersion neighboring schools. French Immersion is expected to draw attendance from outside of the district boundaries as well as provide more opportunities for the waiting-listed families at the other CCUSD immersion schools.

Why choose French for your child? Bloomberg Rankings list French as being the 3rd most important language in the global economy after English and Chinese, Arabic is fourth and Spanish is fifth. This is partially attributed to the fact that many of the fastest developing African countries are French-speaking. With the number of French speakers in the world expected to triple by 2050, this becomes a great choice for students entering school. Dual Language Immersion programs follow the AZ Academic Standards but teach 50% of the day in the target language and the other 50% in English. Results across the U.S. are consistent with what Spanish and Chinese Immersion students experience in Cave Creek District–students are functioning at grade level or higher in English and are reaching high levels of proficiency in the other language. “We are seeing some students add a 3rd language by graduation,” notes Associate Superintendent Dr. Jana Miller.

“The earlier children are exposed to other languages, the more their brains will soak it up. This is yet another great opportunity for Cave Creek School District families,” says Desert Sun Academy Principal Dr. Micah Korb. Call 480-575-2900 now to reserve a spot for your child.

For more information about this story or language immersion programs, call Cristina Ladas, CCUSD World Language Programs Coordinator at 480-518-4289.

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