Calgary Board of Education celebrates 25th anniversary of Spanish bilingual program

CBE is marking a milestone anniversary with its Spanish bilingual program. Educators say it inspires a lifelong language appreciation in students.

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Spanish bilingual program, which runs at ten schools throughout the city.

Eugene Coste School in Haysboro is part of the program. It offers kindergarten to Grade 5 and has 411 students enrolled.

Principal Carmen Fandino started with the program in 2008 and says she’s seen an increase in enrollment over the years.

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“A lot of parents ask, ‘Do I need to be speaking Spanish to be able to come to a bilingual school?’” she said. “But no, not at all. Our teachers are all bilingual, so we take care of the Spanish side and then our parents just join us and accompany us in that journey.”

The CBE says in the 25 years of the program, the initiative has supported students in developing strong language skills and has evolved beyond second language instruction.

“What we use here is called the neuro-linguistic approach to language learning,” Fandino said. “Basically, it puts an emphasis on oral language through a literacy loop, so what that means is that students practice these words before they actually read them and before writing them.”

Since its inception, the CBE says the Spanish bilingual program has inspired many students to develop a lifelong appreciation for language, learning and cultural identity.

“The program isn’t just about learning a language,” said chief superintendent Joanne Pitman in a press release. “It’s about connecting students to new cultures, new communities and new perspectives, helping them build relationships that extend far beyond the classroom.”

Fandino says when students are enrolled in a program like this, they have a better understanding of learning languages – and that helps them when they want to learn more.

“We have students that have maybe traveled abroad and then don’t want to lose the language they’ve acquired, so they seek out the bilingual programs,” she said. “We also have students that are maybe Spanish speakers only, so when they join, they are English language learners, and they learn in company of their peers.”

Fandino says as Calgary communities grow, the CBE’s Spanish bilingual program will definitely grow as well.