March 31, 2022

This month, the World Languages Task Force focused on one of its priorities defined in previous meetings: beginning exposure to world languages in elementary school.

The group welcomed administrators from the School District of Clayton and the Ladue School District to share information about their elementary school world language programs. Dr. Milena Garganigo from Clayton and Dr. Amy Zielinski from Ladue shared how they structure elementary school language learning in Spanish, which begins in their districts in first grade and kindergarten, respectively.

The task force also reviewed information about the Brentwood School District's elementary school Spanish program. Experiences in these districts will be helpful as the task force continues to explore the possible expansion of world language learning in elementary schools.

For its next meeting, the task force will brainstorm possible models for expansion of world language opportunities to meet the priorities of elementary school exposure, the possible introduction of additional languages, and building a sustainable scope of opportunities for students.

The group's next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 28.