Families in northeast valley think so! Desert Sun Academy (K-6 grades) is the first public school in AZ to institute a French Dual Language Immersion program along with conversational Spanish classes. The end goal is for students to develop proficiency in English and French, along with a foundation in Spanish. Why choose French immersion 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 today.
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 across the country–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 easily add a 3rd language by graduation,” notes Associate Superintendent, Dr. Jana Miller.
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 draws attendance from outside of the district boundaries as well as provides more opportunities for the waiting-listed families at the other CCUSD immersion schools.
“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, Mr. Aaron Bagwell. Call 480-575-2900 or 2000 now to reserve a spot for your child.
For more information about this story or language immersion programs, call Cristina Ladas, Director of CCUSD World Language Programs at 480-518-4289.
