A Visit to the International School of Brooklyn

The exploration of bilingual programs around the city continues as we were able to visit the International School of Brooklyn this past Thursday. Upon entering the school doors, you immediately get a sense that this school is serious about learning and its students. Located in a renovated building that was once a church, the school is spacious and bright. The hallways are carefully decorated with student work and anyone walking through them can see what students are currently learning. One display that stuck out in particular was of the school's curriculum in the lower division where it showed the units being studied and the various topics and themes in those units that answer questions such as how we express ourselves, where are we in time in place, how we organise ourselves, how the world works, and sharing the planet. Here's a sense of what we experienced upon arrival:

   

                                          

On our tour of the classrooms in the lower and upper divisions, we were able to witness students and teachers (all who are native speakers) engage in the target language. It was truly fascinating to see students at such an early stage of development, some not being native speakers, speak solely in the target langauge. Each classroom felt like a smaller community that took part in a bigger world of learning. The classrooms are bright and colorful with big windows that let a great amount of sunlight into the room. Again, student work is boasted on the walls giving a sense of pride and accomplishment in what is achieved at ISB. Take a look at our photos of some of the classrooms we visited: 

Spanish Vowels

Art is another subject that students are able to take and are taught in the target language. Students can express their creativity through carefully planned projects that help them develop language skills and are meaningful and fun. The school takes a process over product approach and emphasizes that the process of learning to build and create is more important than the product. 

Paper Mache masks 

Current unit: The Four-Seasons of Vivaldi 

Here is a piece of artwork made by a group of 2nd grade French students displayed in the hallway. Each of the students cut and painted squares, made holes, and strung each piece together to form a beautiful tapestry, resembling that of El Anatsui, a famous contemporary artist. 

Making our way down to the basement, we found that the school also has a music room, cafeteria, and library-very impressive! 

Library

The International School of Brooklyn or ISB is a school that offers a world of opportunity for its rapidly growing student body of about 300 students. Located in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, the school offers a full-immersion language program in Spanish and French. It is divided into the lower division which consists of the Nursery, Pre-K and grades K-5 and the upper division which consists of middle school grades 6-8. They have plans on enlarging the program to include high school grades in the near future.

So how much time do students spend in language immersion in each grade level? Here's a quick breakdown:

-Nursery and Pre-K: 100% full instruction in target language, French or Spanish
-Kindergarten: 90% instruction in target language with 3 hrs. of English per week
-1st through 3rd: 75% of the formal instruction in the target language, with 6 hours per week in     English
-4th and 5th grade: 50-50 model, with half of the formal instruction in the target language and half of the formal instruction in English

Once students move up to middle school, they will engage in a rigorous academic program following the International Baccalaureate model and be required to study eight traditional subjects such as humanities, science, mathematics, arts, physical education, etc. On top of this, they are required to study two languages. For more information on IB programs, visit the following link www.ibo.org.

One of the highlights of this school as described by the lower school director, Delphine Michaud, is that is it is focused on incorporating a truly global perspective in its classrooms. The emphasis is on building a community of learners based on multi-cultural education, preparing students for a international future.

For more information, you can visit the school website at http://isbrooklyn.org/.

Thank you ISB! We hope to see you soon!

NYC's English Language Learners

A recently published demographic report from the NYC Dept. of Education's Office of English Language Learners provides some eye-opening statistics. As mentioned in the report, approximately 41% of students enrolled in NYC public schools speak another language than English at home. ELLs make up 14.4% percent of the entire DOE population and as of 2013 there are 159,162 enrolled in the school system. The largest portion of these students come from the Dominican Republic. Users can access other reports on the DOE website, which holds other important information for ELLs  such as the enrollment process and types of ELL programs. Take a look at some the report highlights below.