Kingswood offers a preschool Spanish immersion program, Escuela Montessori, for children 3-6 years of age. This program is taught by Montessori Certified Teachers who are native Spanish speakers. The full complement of Montessori materials is available to ensure a well-rounded, full scale early childhood education. Instruction is in Spanish only.
The teachers do not speak English in the presence of the students. Parent/Teacher communication is arranged outside the classroom so the students will not discover that the teachers speak English. We feel this is necessary to promote early Spanish fluency in the students. Of course, the teachers do speak English and will be able to understand the needs of the children.
Children completing the kindergarten year in the classroom may be required to attend six-week English language program over the summer. Graduation from kindergarten and promotion to the first grade will be contingent on enrollment and completion of this program.
Our goal is to give the child a complete Montessori Education while achieving Spanish fluency. It is advisable to have the children speak, read, and write in English while out of school. The classroom will be providing all areas of academic study and preparation. But English fluency will have to be promoted in the home.
Standardized evaluation of these students may not accurately reflect the knowledge and ability achieved due to vocabulary issues. In School, the children will learn common terms such as “on top of”, underneath”, “before”, “right”, “left”, “floor”, “ceiling”, “door”, “light”, “shoe”, etc. in Spanish, the parents must make any effort to use these common instructional/directional terms in English with their child(ren). Graduates of this program typically transition into the English elementary program with no difficulty.