Champaign Unit 4 School District: International Prep Academy: Past, Present, And Future

Press release from the Champaign Unit 4 School District:

09/24/2021

As part of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we take a look at the past, present and future of the International Prep Academy, Unit 4's lone full dual language school. The International Prep Academy is the District’s only full dual language school, providing instruction in both Spanish and English to foster bilingualism, biliteracy and multiculturalism in students beginning in kindergarten and continuing through fifth grade. The 2014-15 school year marked IPA’s beginning as a dual language program with 80 students (today’s enrollment is over 500). The following year it became the District’s 12 elementary school and moved to its current 11-acre site on Kirby Avenue. Construction is currently ongoing as part of an expansion project that will allow IPA to become the District’s first K-8 campus when the new building opens for the 2022-23 school year. Every student at IPA is a multilingual learner acquiring English, Spanish, or English and Spanish. Spanish speaking students come from all over the world including Mexico, Central America, South America and Europe. Some students come to Unit 4 not speaking English or Spanish, but rather indigenous languages from Mexico and Central American. These students are becoming trilingual at IPA.  The dual language two-way immersion (TWI) instructional model used by IPA integrates native Spanish speakers with native English speakers for instruction through the use of two languages: English and Spanish. The faculty and staff at the International Prep Academy are dedicated to creating a culturally and linguistically responsive learning environment that respects and embraces languages and cultures. In a 50/50 dual language setting, students learn two languages as they learn the core academics. Instruction in Spanish and in English is divided evenly at all grade levels, and each language is used for a set of content areas. Students are also exposed to literacy in both Spanish and English beginning in kindergarten. Two-way immersion dual language classrooms will have balanced numbers of English speakers and Spanish speakers. The students themselves are models for their respective home languages and cultures. Through a Spanish/English dual language program, students are unified through two languages and two cultures. The goals are for students to become: • Bilingual – speak two languages • Bicultural – embrace and navigate two cultures • Biliterate – read and write in two languages

This press release was produced by the Champaign Unit 4 School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.