We SPECIFY

After discussing survey results with add.a.lingua and the school decision-makers commit to implementation, the real fun begins!  We help you find the right "point person" to become your resident immersion expert and work directly with add.a.lingua.

So what are the requirements necessary in this stellar individual? PASSION for language, culture, and children!  You seek someone with leadership experience, a positive attitude, and desire to promote immersion education at your school. The point person facilitates the growth of your immersion program, therefore communication and organizational skills are essential.  Did we already say PASSION? 

 

Point Person Training

Once hired, the point person becomes the connection to add.a.lingua. We hold point person trainings twice per year on site at our home base school.  We know how important it is for an immersion program coordinator to fully engage with and experience a well-established immersion program at all grade levels.  Based on our own administrative experiences, we know what needs to be learned, the materials needed to do so, and the time required to understand the role of point person. We systematically explain all the add.a.lingua resources available as we invest in preparing your resident immersion experts (point people) who are knowledgeable about your school’s unique qualities.  We equip the point person to market your program, plan for growth, find, interview, hire, and support new immersion staff, and ultimately become the advocate for immersion education.

 

Hiring

Once a school has hired the right point person, add.a.lingua then guides that “right” point person to hire the “right” immersion staff.  If the point person is unable to assess a potential immersion teacher candidate’s ability with language, add.a.lingua can help; offering up to three oral language assessments. We share with your point person the  “red-flag” checklists we developed to wade through applications. Other hiring tools include the compilation of qualities we have found in every highly successful immersion educator. Hiring the right immersion staff for the first years of your program is crucial for success.

 

Literacy Frameworks

In order to ensure that your program succeeds, we have developed grade-level literacy frameworks which integrate the content of balanced literacy best practices with “content obligatory” and “content related” language structures.  Each grade level aligns with Common Core literacy standards.

The add.a.lingua literacy framework includes weekly planning tools, resource lists, anchor lessons, word sorts, and assessments designed specifically for the Spanish immersion classroom (Mandarin is currently in development). Each grade-level framework follows a careful scope and sequence ensuring immersion educators introduce, practice, and attain the transferable and non-transferable skills in both the native (English) and target (Spanish/Chinese) languages.  The frameworks provide balanced literacy content and language objectives focused around the four language skills essential to students becoming bilingual and bi-literate:  reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

 

Teacher Training

Each June and October we bring your teachers to our home base school in order to train them in add.a.lingua grade-level literacy frameworks and general immersion pedegogy.  We ensure they work with experienced immersion teachers in order to learn how to follow the add.a.lingua non-negotiable guidelines.  The summer training is hands on and INTENSE.  We take time with your new and returning immersion teachers in June so they have the whole summer to work with their materials and to build a strong working relationship with their point people.

The October training combines the teachers and point people together in another home-base school visit designed to foster confidence and team building.  While teachers observe in immersion classrooms, learning again from the veteran teachers with whom they connected at the summer training,  point people work with add.a.lingua staff to learn how they can specifically support each immersion staff member individually.  The day is carefully designed, balancing the time spent observing with opportunities to ask questions, receive feedback, and collaborate with one another to set attainable goals.