Bilingual students reflect: la familia de Edison

Chloe DirectorStaff WriterAsk a Samo student if elementary school was a good experience and there’s a good chance he or she won’t even remember those distant days — that is, unless it’s a student who went to Edison Language Academy.Most Edison alumni, who get a happy look in their eyes as they reminisce, speak fluent Spanish. Edison Language Academy is a bilingual school that goes from kindergarten to fifth grade. The dual immersion program was established in 1986 by UCLA’s Center for Language Education and Research.  Classes are taught in both Spanish and English, benefiting both native Spanish speakers and native English speakers by leaving them fully bilingual.In order to provide a language balance, Edison is a charter school, allowing students from inside and outside the district.The unusual, self-selected program, Edison draws families who tend to participate in the school’s activities, creating a supportive, nurturing academic environment. The students stay on the immersion track as the program continues at John Adams Middle School (JAMS) and Samo.Edison students who come out of this unique environment usually cherish their elementary experience. They are a close-knit group with a strong sense of identity. Furthermore, they are finding the language skills acquired at Edison useful in today’s global society.Natalie Keller, a sophomore at Samo, attended Edison instead of her local elementary school.“I think I took even more from my elementary school experience than someone who just went to Grant or Will Rogers or another normal elementary school,” Keller said.Keller has a Mexican mother and a father with European roots. She had always spoken Spanish with her maternal grandparents, but she feels Edison gave her an extra push to learn the language.“I don’t think I would ever be able to read and write essays in Spanish had I not gone to Edison,” Keller said.According to Edison’s website, the school immerses students in Spanish starting in kindergarten, and the curriculum gradually evolves to include half instruction in English and half in Spanish.“We walked into kindergarten on the first day of school and they completely spoke to us in Spanish,” Keller said. “I wasn’t afraid because I knew Spanish, but I remember my friend Dalia was. I had to help her out and tell her what the teacher was saying.”In fifth grade, Keller recalled, she had a Colombian teacher in the morning and a native English speaker in the afternoon.Though Keller’s memories of her elementary school experience are positive, Edison isn’t the best option for everyone. Some parents feel like a combination of two languages may cause children to fall behind in their subjects.“I think some parents might not want their kids going there because they don’t want them to learn Spanish. They think it’s too much,” Keller said. “But I didn’t fall behind in other subjects when I came to middle school.”Edison principal Lori Orum said in her message on the school’s website that she is realistic about the challenges Edison students face.“Students who come into an immersion program or leave it may take up to two years getting back into the curriculum of their new environment,” she said.Evidence suggests that in most cases the combination of languages enriches students. In some cases, though, if students lack motivation, or are switched into the program in the upper grades, they may struggle to catch up. According to Keller, there were students who came into third or fourth grade who couldn’t keep up with the language and eventually switched to other schools.Isaiah French is a senior and another student who is part of the Edison phenomenon. He, like Keller, says he never felt behind in any class due to Edison’s curriculum. French started at Grandview Elementary School in Culver City, which is also a Spanish immersion school. He later moved to Edison when his mother began working in the district.  French was one of only five or six African-American students in his class, he says — but this didn’t affect his sense of belonging to the Edison “familia.”“I feel like I would have fit in even if I was the only African-American kid in my class. Edison is so warm and welcoming I would have never felt out of place,” French said.French said that the JAMS immersion program only increased his abilities.“Middle school was the most pivotal time for me to develop my language fluency. And at Samo, teachers like Ms. Toumayan and Ms. Paul really built a relationship with me,” French said. “They have propelled my education forward. They helped me learned the logistics of the language.”cdirector@thesamohi.com