15800: (Hermantin) Sun Sentinel-Students at Delray elementary school to be taught in Fr (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Students at Delray elementary school to be taught in French

By Lois K. Solomon
Education Writer
Posted June 6 2003

DELRAY BEACH · The multilingual students of Orchard View Elementary School
soon will add another tongue to their repertoire.

The school next year will become the first in Palm Beach County to teach its
kindergartners in French half the day and English the other half. The
principal plans to add a grade each year, eventually developing an entire
student body fluent in French.


"We are so excited,'' Principal Carole Crilley said. "We believe this will
bring the community into our school.''

About 40 percent of the student body speaks Haitian Creole at home, while
about 20 percent speaks Spanish at home, Crilley said. Many of the Creole
families know and love French, associating it with the upper echelons of
Haitian society.

"If you speak French, you have been educated,'' said Joseph Bernadel, a
Haitian community leader in Delray Beach. "It translates into earning power,
better jobs.''

Students at Plumosa Elementary School in Delray Beach also will achieve a
special language feat next year: They will become the only students in Palm
Beach County public schools to learn Italian.

Principal Sandra Byrne said she has won a grant for her students to study
Italian once a week. Some of her students also learn Spanish each day as
part of the school's dual-language program.

Both Plumosa and Orchard View got grades of C from the state last year and
could get worse grades this year due to declining scores on the Florida
Comprehensive Assessment Test. Crilley said the Orchard View faculty
brainstormed ways to get parents more involved and children more
enthusiastic about school.

"FCAT was the catalyst that got us moving,'' she said. "We knew we couldn't
keep teaching the same way.''

Knowing that their students already spoke several other languages, Orchard
View staff researched existing dual-language programs in the Palm Beach
County School District. At schools with those programs, students learn
subjects such as science, social studies and math in Spanish. Across the
country, there are dual-language programs in Spanish, French, German,
Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Arabic.

In Palm Beach County, all the dual-language schools have improved student
achievement as well as their school grades.

Crilley said she chose French because Haitian families already hold it in
high esteem. Haiti declared its independence from France in 1803, but the
nation was heavily influenced by the 106-year occupation. French still is
spoken in many government offices in Haiti.

"Haitians believe that if you speak French, you belong to a higher class,''
said Malique Domond, an Orchard View guidance counselor and Haiti native.

Crilley said she needs to find a French teacher who has the proper
elementary-school credentials. But she and Orchard View parents are
confident.

"I want to speak French with my children, but we are so busy learning
English,'' said parent Jean Reid, a native of Haiti and parent of twin
third-graders. "If you can speak more than one language, it is a blessing.''

Lois Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6536.




Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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