Minutes from the World Language Task Force
December 6, 2007
About 20 members of the Elementary World Languages Committee met on December 6, 2007, in the DeWitt Blank Board Room. Co-chairs, Dr. Bucci, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education and CeCe Kelly, World Languages Chairperson for the district facilitated the meeting. Dr. Bucci welcomed the members to the second meeting of the committee and reviewed the agenda for the evening.
CeCe Kelly described our current world languages program and the proposed changes for 2008-09. In the current program, students are introduced to French, German, and Spanish during one quarter in the sixth grade. In 7 th grade, students choose one of those three languages to explore for another quarter. In the 8 th grade, students may take a full year of French, German, or Spanish.
The program is being expanded in 2008-09 in several ways. Students in the 6 th grade will have a semester course called Introduction to World Languages. In that course students will learn about the origins of language with an introduction to Latin and Greek. They will explore French, German, Spanish and Russian. During 7 th and 8 th grade students will be able to choose from French, German or Spanish to pursue for two full years of study. They will then be well-positioned to deepen and/or expand their world language learning at the high school. Russian begins in 9 th grade.
Members then separated into four subcommittees to continue their study. Each sub-committee will seek answers to one of the following questions:
- What level of support exists in our community for teaching World Languages at the elementary level?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of World Language Program?
- Which language(s) should be taught at the elementary level and why?
- What are the educational benefits to children who study a World Language at the elementary level?
Dr. Bucci and/or CeCe Kelly will attend each of the sub-committee meetings. They will be held at the administration building. Dates and times will be posted soon. The larger committee will reconvene to receive sub-committee reports on Thursday, February 21, 2008, at 7:00 PM in the DeWitt Blank Board Room.
Sub-Committee #1 – Community Support
Meeting Date:
January 11, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Members:
Maria Osio maria_osio@hotmail.com
Chris Misback cmisback@zoominternet.net
Kathia Kennedy cakennedy55402@yahoo.com
Kate Hrach chrach@zbzoom.net
Connie Karrs ckarrs@pinerichland.org
Action Plan:
- Create a model for a survey.
- Determine mode/method of distribution.
- Determine timeline.
- Compile data.
- Prepare presentation.
Sub-Committee #2 – Types of Programs
Meeting Date:
January 15 th at 7:00 PM
Members:
Fadoua Loudiy-Smith loudiy@zbzoom.net
Fabienne Prokesch fabienne@prokesch.com
Donna Nofsinger donnan@zoominternet.net
Gisella DelFrate gisella.delfrate@pnc.com
Action Plan:
- Research different programs.
- Compare and contrast different programs.
- Make a recommendation.
Sub-Committee #3- Languages
Meeting Date:
January 24, 2008 at 7 p.m.
Members:
Alexandra Batayios abaytouyois@pinerichland.org
Joe Hudock mahudock@connecttime.net
Wendy Compernolle wendyc@connecttime.net
Donna Stephenson donnastephenson@zoominternet.net
Kristen Zappa krissy@zoominternet.net
Action Plan:
- Complete individual research.
- Integrate with other sub-committees.
- Share with other subcommittees.
Sub-Committee #4 – Educational Benefits
Meeting Date:
January 9, 2008 at 7 p.m.
Members:
Roulah Farah roulafarah@aol.com
Mildred Sierra hmsierra@connecttime.net
Susie Gavlik sgavlik@frontierstravel.com
Madeleine Hombosky jmjms@zoominternet.net
Diane Todorowski Hannaht@connecttime.net
Action Plan:
- Research support for advantages listed.
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