New Immersion Track at Holy Cross Grade School holds March 15 Open House
SOUTH BEND —In collaboration with the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies and the Alliance for Catholic Education, Holy Cross Grade School is launching a Spanish-English Immersion program this Fall at the pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten levels.
The School will host a public Open House from 5 to 7 pm on March 15. During this event, parents and children can explore the new program, enjoy homemade tamales, and learn about registration.
Around the country, a growing number of schools are beginning these programs of “two-way immersion.” In the two-way immersion model, children from two distinct languages come together to form a learning community in which each benefits from the others’ linguistic and cultural assets. This approach also has shown significant academic benefits due to children using more of their brain, as well as increased inter-personal skills.
Two academic leaders from the University of Notre Dame are helping Holy Cross School in the launch of the immersion track. Dr. Katy Lichon of the English as a New Language Program in Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education, specializes in language acquisition, and Dr. Luis Fraga of the Institute for Latino Studies at Notre Dame, is an expert in the effect of two-way immersion on school communities.
According to Dr. Fraga, Holy Cross School is poised to become a regional pioneer in Catholic education: "What better way to build intercultural communities of respect and understanding
consistent with the Gospel and the call of the Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops? Two-way immersion programs capture the growing diversity of our Catholic communities to build educational opportunities that strengthen our Catholic schools and serve the Church for generations to come."
Each year, the immersion track will add one grade level, as the cohorts move through primary school. Holy Cross will continue to offer its current traditional track, which also has recently received significant recognition. At the pre-school and pre-kindergarten level, Holy Cross is in the final stages of becoming the first area Catholic School eligible to receive Indiana Early Childhood Development funds. At the Kindergarten level, teacher Ashley Parmelee was just recognized with a Light of Learning Award by the Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend.
Moving forward, principal Angela Budzinski sees the two tracks working well together: “Students in the traditional track will also receive additional Spanish language enrichment. Students in the immersion track will benefit from the strength of Holy Cross’s current curriculum.”
At the March 15 Open House, both tracks will be featured, and there will also be teachers from a Catholic school in Holland, Michigan with a two-way immersion track.
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Media are invited to attend the March 15 Open House, between 5 pm and 7 pm at Holy Cross School (1020 Wilber Street, South Bend). Please RSVP to Michael Griffin at mgriffin@hcc- nd.edu or 574-514-8358