While some of their classmates will be spending spring break on the white sand beaches of Florida or celebrating a week without homework, a small group of Atlanta Public Schools students will be in school this week. But, really, they’re excited about it.
“I’ve been to Florida multiple times, so it’s not like I’m missing out on anything new,” said Ariel Thompson, a senior at Benjamin E. Mays High School. “This is a new experience. I get to experience a new culture.”
The experience Thompson referred to is the new Atlanta Public Schools “Global Explorers” program, which sent two groups of high school students to Europe on Saturday. One group will visit France and another will travel to Spain for a mini foreign study experience lasting 10 days. Students will participate in a homestay with French and Spanish families for six nights and will attend school during the day. Thompson is part of the group traveling to France.
“They’ll truly have an immersion experience in which they have to utilize the language the entire time,” said Margaret McKenzie, the district’s director for multilingual programs and services.
Before they get to the homestay, students will sightsee and tour each country.
The students learning French flew to Paris, where they’ll spend a few days seeing sights like the Eiffel Tower and taking a culinary tour. Then they’ll head to their homestay in a city called Poitiers, southwest of Paris. They’ll live with a family and attend school for a week, then return to Paris for a farewell dinner before they fly home.
The students studying Spanish began their trip in Barcelona and will see sights such as the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, a famous Spanish cathedral that has been under construction for more than 100 years. After a few days in Barcelona, they’ll take the train south to Valencia to stay with their host families. Like the French students, they will also attend school for a week before returning to Barcelona to visit the Picasso Museum and take a cooking class before returning to Atlanta.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
The program’s application process was rigorous, McKenzie said. APS juniors and seniors who completed high school level three or higher of either Spanish or French were invited to apply. Top applicants underwent interviews in their chosen foreign language. Those selected for the program were notified by email. The trip is free for students due to a partnership with a student language immersion nonprofit called Xperitas.
“(The groups are) representative of a cross section of all our schools,” McKenzie said.
As a result, the group members are still getting to know each other. They should have time to bond on flights lasting longer than eight hours and train rides once they land.
The students met Saturday at the Atlanta airport’s international terminal, which was bustling with travelers. Family members accompanied them to wish them farewell. Students were a mixture of excitement and nerves, but for most excitement won out.
Felix Perry, a junior at North Atlanta High, said he’s eager to get to Spain.
“I’m taking classes in three different languages — in English, Spanish and Valencian, which is the local language. I’ll be taking physics in Spanish. I can barely do it in English,” he quipped.
The trip is a full-circle moment for Therrell High Spanish teacher Stephanie Jones, one of the chaperones. She became interested in Spanish when she was a student at Mays High and went on a similar trip to Spain in 1996. At the time, Mays was a math and science magnet school.
“Math was my favorite (subject),” Jones said. “So how did I become a Spanish teacher? It was really the birth of this program.”
Jones participated in a different program than the one she’s chaperoning. APS has had different foreign study programs throughout the years. Global Explorers is the first one the district has offered since the COVID-19 pandemic. Jones said it’s a life-changing opportunity.
“I tell my students, ‘You never know how life will take you on these journeys … and what that’ll look like on the other side,‘” she said.
Editor’s note: Several students will blog about their trips for the AJC. Follow their travels here: https://www.ajc.com/education/get-schooled/
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Why focus on languages?
All APS schools offer a foreign language. That includes elementary schools, where students take either French, Spanish or Chinese. Schools can choose when to begin, so one school may start as early as prekindergarten and another may wait until the second grade.
Middle school foreign language instruction builds on what students learn in elementary school so advanced students can earn high school credit. Once students get to high school, those who finish Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate levels of foreign languages can receive a biliteracy seal on their high school diploma.
APS also offers Dual Language Immersion programs at nine schools (six elementary, two middle and one high school). DLI students spend 50% of their day learning subjects in Spanish and 50% in English.
Research shows learning a foreign language benefits young students. For example, some studies show DLI students have higher test scores, better attendance and fewer behavioral problems than students in English-only classrooms. Research also shows that when students learn another language, it can improve “executive function,” or the ability to focus on tasks like planning, problem-solving and organizing.
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