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WORLD LANGUAGES
World Languages Home

Englewood Public Schools
Bergen County
World Languages Model Program Designation:
Elementary World Languages Immersion Programs

Visitation Dates:   
The program is open to visitors from October until June with the exception of testing weeks.

Visitation Procedures:
Visitations begin 8:30 a.m. at the Russell C. Major Liberty School, 12 Tenafly Road, Englewood, NJ in Room #113  The world languages supervisor will provide an overview of the elementary dual immersion program that includes information on curriculum as well as assessment data on student achievement. Visitors will have the opportunity to observe classes at K-6 grade levels. A debriefing session will be provided at the conclusion of the visit.

Contact Information:
Mercedes Gil
201-862-6262
12 Tenafly Road, Englewood NJ 07631
mgil@epsd.org

Demographics:
Englewood Public Schools serve a little over 3,000 students district-wide.  97% of the students in the Early Childhood Program and in the elementary schools are of African-American and Latin-American heritage. Approximately 200 students are enrolled in the Mandarin Immersion Program and over 300 students are currently enrolled in the Dual Language Program (Spanish/English).  Half of the children in the dual program come from non-English speaking homes and the other half from non-Spanish speaking homes. The ratio sometimes varies due to family mobility and student promotion. 

World Languages Program:
The Englewood Public School District (EPSD) recognizes the benefits of a linguistically integrated approach to learning in grades Pre-K through 6 and the resulting impact on the local community and beyond.  In addition to our Model Dual Language (Spanish/English) Program, we provide students with the opportunity to acquire high levels of proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. Project IMAGE (Immersion in Mandarin Achieves Gains in Education) is specifically designed for English and bilingual speaking students to assist in fostering high levels of student achievement in a second or third language, as well as in other content areas. 

Fair Haven School District
Monmouth County
World Languages Model Program Designation:
World Languages Program

Visitation Dates:
The program is open to visitors most days when school is in session except during testing weeks or when other school events take place.  Please check the school’s website for the school calendar (www.fairhaven.edu). 

Visitation Procedures:
The schedule will be determined by the supervisor. 

Contact Information:
Ellen D. Spears, 732-747-0320
Knollwood School
224 Hance Road
Fair Haven, NJ 07704
spearse@fairhavenbe.org

Demographics:
The Fair Haven School District consists of two elementary schools - the Viola L. Sickles School for grades Pre-K-3 and the Knollwood School for grades 4-8, and has a combined student population of approximately 1000 students who are primarily from English-speaking households. Fair Haven students attend Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School for grades 9-12.

World Languages Program:
The Fair Haven world language program offers both French and Spanish.  All students begin the study of Spanish in the early elementary grades.  In sixth grade, students may also elect to study French.  Some students choose to study both French and Spanish. 

The program uses a thematic approach to instruction and assesses students in the three modes of communication using performance-based assessment tasks that are tied to the thematic units.  Embedded within the units are engaging culturally authentic tasks.  It is important to note that teachers have participated in extensive professional development activities related to understanding the relationship between proficiency levels and student performance as well as the most recent pedagogical approaches to language learning.  All classes are conducted in the target language.

Princeton Regional Schools
Mercer County
World Languages Model Program Designation:
K-12 World Languages Program

Visitation Dates:
The program is open to visitors on most Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Visitation Procedures:
Please email Priscilla Russel to arrange for a visit. 

Contact Information:
Priscilla G. Russel
Priscilla_Russel@monet.prs.k12.nj.us
151 Moore St. 
Princeton

Demographics:
The Princeton Regional School District serves two intertwined municipalities, Princeton Borough and Princeton Township.  Students represent all major racial and cultural groups, and speak many languages ranging from Arabic to Vietnamese.  24% of the students claim 1 of 52 languages other than English as their first tongue.

The Princeton Regional Schools enroll approximately 3,400 students in six schools.  The six schools serve students through a combination of neighborhood or centralized sites.  The four elementary schools- Community Park, Riverside School, Littlebrook School, and Johnson Park School include full-day Kindergarten through fifth Grade and pre-K classes.

World Languages Program:
All students begin study of Spanish in 1st grade.  In 6th grade students either continue with Spanish or change to French. In 9th grade students may continue with French or Spanish and/or may begin Italian, Mandarin, Japanese, and Latin.   French, Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin are offered through AP.  Students who study French and Spanish have the opportunity to take a cinema course in high school.

WEST ORANGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
ESSEX COUNTY
World Languages Model Program Designation:
K-5 Elementary Spanish Program and High School Heritage Spanish Program

Visitation Dates:    
The program is open to visitors beginning October 2010.  Please e-mail Ed Acevedo to arrange a visitation at least one week in advance. Visitation teams will be limited to four educators per visit.

Visitation Procedures:
Visitations begin 8:45 a.m. at one of the schools in the district. When requesting a visitation, it is helpful to indicate the desired grade levels and preferred duration of the visit. Visitors may observe the elementary Spanish or high school Spanish Heritage program.  Each visitation will begin with a program orientation and conclude with a debriefing session.

Contact Information:
Ed Acevedo
District Supervisor of World Languages, K-12
West Orange High School
51 Conforti Ave.
West Orange, NJ  07052
(973) 669-5301 ext. 3171
eacevedo@woboe.org
 
Demographics:
West Orange, New Jersey is primarily a residential community of approximately 46,000 residents in the center of Essex County less than 20 miles west of New York City.  The population is culturally diverse and spans all economic strata.  Its 12.6 square miles are spread over two ridges and valley of the Watchung Mountains.  The West Orange Public Schools system educates approximately 6,300 students in seven elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school.  

World Languages Program:
Students in Kindergarten and grade 1 receive Spanish through comprehensible input once a week for thirty minutes through the SALSA Video program. In grades 2-5, students receive Spanish from a certified Spanish teacher twice a week for a total contact time of 75 minutes per week.  There are seven elementary Spanish teachers, one in each school. 

In eighth grade students may choose to continue to study Spanish or begin to study Mandarin Chinese, French or Italian.  West Orange High School has an enrollment of approximately 2,100 students, who continue in the study of the language of their choice or begin the study of a new language.  The school offers A.P. courses in French, Italian and Spanish.  The Heritage Spanish courses are designed for students who are already proficient in the language and are responsive to their specific needs. Since the study of these courses is planned according to proficiencies, courses are available to students in grades 9-12 in one of the following courses: Beginning, Intermediate or Pre-Advanced Heritage Spanish. Once completing the heritage sequence, students advance to the A.P. Spanish language course and culminate with the A.P. Spanish Literature course. The Heritage Spanish courses address expanded communication in Spanish by including academic and professional contexts and purposes, a variety of materials at respectful reading levels, expanded vocabulary, writing for academic, professional and literary purposes and use of different discourse styles and registers. 

WEST WINDSOR-PLAINSBORO REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
MERCER/MIDDLESEX COUNTIES
World Languages Model Program Designation:
Elementary and Middle Schools World Languages Programs

Visitation Dates:
The program is open to visitors beginning October 2010.  Please contact the supervisor of world languages at least one week in advance of the proposed visit to schedule an observation.  It is preferable to limit the visitation team to five educators. Visits will not be arranged during testing weeks or when other school events take place.  Please check the school’s website for next year’s calendar.

Visitation Procedures:
When requesting a visitation, it is helpful to indicate the desired grade levels and preferred duration of the visit. The time and school for the visits will then be determined by the supervisor. Prior to class observations, the supervisor will provide an overview of the district philosophy of second language learning, the district curriculum, and program highlights. There will be time allotted for a brief question-and-answer session with available teachers and administrators. The visit will conclude with a debriefing session. 

Contact Information:
Carol Meulener, Supervisor of World Languages (carol.meulener@ww-p.org) 609-716-5000, 5120
Directions to the district schools are located at: www.ww-p.org.
505 Village Road West, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550

Demographics:
The West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District has served the municipalities of West Windsor Township and Plainsboro Township since its formation in 1969. Students represent all major racial and cultural groups (46 percent White, 43 percent Asian, 6 percent African American, and 5 percent Hispanic) and come from homes representing 33 different heritage languages. Enrollment in the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District has changed dramatically over the past 17 years. In 1993, there were just over 6,000 students; in 2009-2010, there are approximately 9,500 students. 
 
World Languages Program:
The elementary and middle school world languages programs were implemented in September 1999. Language specialists teach classes and the curriculum is based on thematic units of study with links to other content areas. Teachers assess student performance on an ongoing basis using department rubrics for participation, interpersonal speaking, interpretive listening, and presentational speaking. Currently, students in the lower elementary grades have Spanish twice a week for a total of 80 minutes of instruction. Before moving to Grade 4, students choose between continuing Spanish or beginning Mandarin Chinese. Each year, a sampling of students is interviewed in Grades 3 and 5 using the Simulated Oral Proficiency Assessment (SOPA) model for program evaluation purposes.  As students enter Grade 6, they choose to continue Spanish or Chinese or enroll in entry-level classes in French or German for a three-year sequence of study at the middle level.   World Languages are part of the middle school academic program with classes meeting daily for 40 minutes.