Spanish Immersion Comes to Clearwater

A school designed to promote bilingualism in Spanish and English will soon be welcoming its first students. Tampa Bay International School -- with a research-backed dual immersion program -- will be launching in Clearwater for the 2020-2021 school year. The small, independent school will initially enroll students in grades K-5 and gradually expand to teach children from preschool all the way through 12th grade. The private school will additionally feature arts-rich instruction and a pluralistic program of Jewish education that is open to children of all religious backgrounds. The school's indexed tuition model allows families to pay an amount in tuition in direct proportion to their financial resources.

Immersion is a drastically different approach from the way that foreign languages are typically taught in US schools. In most cases, students' exposure to foreign languages before middle school is limited, and when students do begin learning a new language, it is taught as a special subject for a limited amount of time each week. In an immersion classroom, a foreign language -- referred to as a target language -- is instead used to teach core academic content, including math, science, and social studies, and the target language is used for at least half of students' instructional time. At Tampa Bay International School, roughly half of instruction will occur in Spanish and half in English, in order to build fluency and literacy skills in both languages.

There are at least 2,000 immersion programs in schools across the US, according to the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Immersion is backed by decades of research as a best practice in foreign language instruction. Research has shown it to be a highly versatile tool that helps diverse groups of learners -- among them gifted students and English Language Learners -- achieve academic success.

The school's arts-rich, inquiry-based curriculum will feature explorations of peoples and cultures worldwide, especially those commonly left out of history books and curricula in the United States. Its program of Jewish education emphasizes Jewish values of tzedakah and tikkun olam (social justice); shalom (peace); and shmirat ha adamah (caring for the Earth); in addition to explorations of Jewish history and culture worldwide; and optional studies of Hebrew and religious education. Tampa Bay International School will emphasize the cultivation of a global mindset that acknowledges multiple perspectives of complex issues, an appreciation of the world's rich diversity, and a commitment to working to solve social, economic, and environmental problems faced worldwide.

The school, located at 1685 S. Belcher Rd. in Clearwater, is enrolling students on a first-come, first-served basis, with limited seats remaining. Parents who would like more information about the school or to set up a tour may call 727-320-2578 or write: bzamoff@tampabayintl.org.

The school's website is: http://www.tampabayintl.org

A virtual tour of the school may be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m36XNHqRNMo