Local News - December 2003

Spanish for Natives course considered

Published December 3, 2003

Better language skills sought

By SARAH GRANO, Staff Writer

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Native Spanish speakers at Lincolnton High School may have a class tailor-made for them.

Spanish For Native Speakers I and II gives students a chance to develop, maintain and enhance their Spanish.

“Occasionally we get Spanish speakers who need support in their own language,” said Elaine Jenkins, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

“It’s difficult to teach somebody a verb in English if they don’t know what a verb is in Spanish.”

The course is not designed to replace English as a Second Language courses. Instead, it is seen as a Spanish language arts course.

The school’s Hispanic population makes up 17 percent of the student body.

“We have a big number of those students in that 17 percent whose English is just not as good as it needs to be,” said Brian Simpson, an assistant principal at the school. “It’s not at a functional level yet.”

Officials hope the addition of the Spanish for Native Speakers classes will also improve the students’ understanding of English.

Whether Lincolnton will add the course next fall depends largely on finding a teacher.

“This course will be taught either by a native speaker or someone who is so articulate that they could be a native speaker,” Jenkins said.

College bound students taking the class could use it as their foreign language requirement.

After completing Spanish for Native Speakers I and II, students can take Spanish IV with other fourth-year students who are studying the Spanish language.

Several other changes were made at the Lincoln County Board of Education Curriculum Committee Meeting.

Year long AP Biology and AP Chemistry classes have been replaced by semester long AP classes, which allow students’ grade point averages to rise because of the opportunity to take more weighted classes.

Courses in networking, e-commerce, digital communications systems and other technological subjects will be added to the high school curriculum.

“We are moving so much more into technology, and it’s changing so fast on us,” said Millie Costner, director of career and technical education.

“This is the future. The job market is health care and technology.”

Courses such as Fashion Merchandising and Marketing Management will be dropped

The curriculum committee made many of their changes in order to be in compliance with the state and university system.

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Staff Writer Sarah Grano can be reached at 704-735-3031 or sgrano@ltnews.com

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