“A student can read Shakespeare in English and the poems of Pablo Neruda in Spanish. A student can study science in Spanish and mathematics in English, crisscrossing concepts and vocabulary in two languages to make a tight weave. Students do not travel back and forth across a bridge. The entire school experience takes place on the bridge. Students can camp out and make it a home, internalizing two languages to own them for the rest of their lives—the true meaning of language acquisition.”
-Diana Lam, Founding Member of Muñiz Academy
Margarita Muñiz Academy will implement a college preparatory, culturally relevant two-way bilingual curriculum that provides students with the 21st century skills necessary for success in higher education and beyond.
Classes in the school’s college preparatory program will be standards-based and taught in both Spanish and English. Muñiz Academy will aim for a 50-50 language split over the four-year grade span. The school’s comprehensive language use plan, modeled on the Rafael Hernández K-8 School Language Policy, will ensure that students receive an exemplary two-way bilingual education aligned with our feeder schools.
The school aims for each course having a designated language throughout the semester or year. In order to continue to develop Spanish language skills, students will be enrolled in two classes where Spanish is the primary language each year. The language use plan will include a social language policy for non-instructional time (e.g. hallways, announcements, communication with teachers outside of class) through implementation of a designated language of the day.
View this short video to learn how being bilingual improves brain function!
