Spanish program takes off in Moorhead

Tammy King didn't have to search far to find Spanish tutors for her 2-year-old son.

King simply asked Zachary's brothers, 9-year-old Nathaniel and 8-year-old Jonathan, to teach him.

"I always encourage the boys to speak Spanish to him at home," the Sabin, Minn., mom said. "When they're that young, their brains soak up languages like a sponge."

King's sons were among the first students to enroll in the Moorhead School District's Spanish Immersion Program three years ago. The effort, where all courses are taught in Spanish, is open to all students.

The highly touted program welcomed 65 students its first year in 1999.

Next fall, enrollment in the program will hit an all-time high of 176 students.

That includes the addition of the program's first fourth-grade class and 46 kindergarten kids, the maximum number the program can handle.

Another four kindergarten students are on a waiting list.

"Things are going very well and we have excellent enrollment," said Anne Moyano, principal at Probstfield Elementary School.

In prior years, registration for kindergarteners in the program ended in August.

This year, kindergarten classes for the next school year were filled in April.

"That's the fastest we've ever filled up for those classes," Moyano said. "It's a significant change for us."

She credits a portion of the popularity of the Spanish-based curriculum to word-of-mouth praise from parents.

Perhaps surprisingly, enrollment in the program has continued to rise despite the elimination of its bus service.

To save money, the Moorhead School Board eliminated busing to the program outside Probstfield's attendance area a year ago.

Faced with a $759,000 deficit, the cost-cutting move saved the district $65,000.

Moyano said the move upset some parents. A few students left the program, while others didn't enroll who may have otherwise.

More than a dozen parents north of Moorhead now drive their children to the program themselves each morning.

During the school year, King brings her sons, Nathaniel and Jonathan, from Sabin with her on her way to work.

"It's not easy for some parents," Moyano said.

"I admire their commitment."

She said the school officials are looking at ways to make transportation to the program easier for families.

The program may become more accessible -- at least for some families -- in 2004.

That's when Probstfield will be converted to an administrative building and the program will move to one of three elementary schools.

Possible sites include Robert Asp School and Moorhead Junior High, which will be remodeled into K-5 schools, and a new $10 million elementary school planned near Eighth Street and 40th Avenue South.

An elementary school design team has proposed placing the program in the junior high building. Moyano said she would support the move.

"It would be the most central of the three locations," she said.

"It seems like the best compromise."

For more information on Moorhead's Spanish Immersion Program, contact Probstfield Elementary School at (218) 284-7300.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Cole Short at (701) 241-5557