This course is for all school personnel who interact with native Spanish-speaking students and/or their families. It is a comprehensive class for beginners or for students who took Spanish a while ago and need a good review. Students will practice language relevant to their work in safe, supported conversation with peers. In addition to providing tools for communicating with students in their native language, instruction will be embedded with linguistic and cultural factors that can maximize academic access for ELLs and enhance teachers’ communication with their students’ families.

Participants in this course will be required to attend IN-PERSON classes at Hamilton Middle School in Denver, CO.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Accurately decode Spanish text, using correct pronunciation and accentuation.
• Converse with a partner in Spanish about a variety of personally relevant topics, demonstrating listening comprehension and accurately conveying meaning.
• Speak and write in grammatically correct sentences referring to actions in the present, past and future.
• Prepare and present a lesson in Spanish that is appropriate for teaching to a student or students’ family member.
• Explain linguistic and cultural differences that will help them better accommodate and communicate with their native Spanish-speaking students and their families.