Ashford Park Receives Grant for Language Immersion Project

Ashford Park Elementary is one of three DeKalb schools that will have its own language immersion program and the first-ever in the state.

The other DeKalb schools receiving grants are Rockbridge and Evansdale elementaries.

A 2003 study by the College Board found that students who study a second language for four or more years score higher - by as much as 100 points per section - than their peers on the SATs.

The grants are being awarded by the Georgia Department of Education.

Through the grants, DCSD will have the first German and French immersion programs in the state. Rockbridge Elementary and Evansdale Elementary were awarded the grant for French, and Ashford Park Elementary was awarded a grant for German. DCSD received the most grants of any district in the state.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to bolster learning in DeKalb, and we are incredibly grateful to have been selected,” said Interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond. “In addition to the advanced cognitive abilities they'll develop, these dual-immersion programs will help our children graduate with the kinds of skills that get them noticed by potential employers.”

Students at the three schools will begin their language study in kindergarten using a 50/50 immersion model. Training for teachers and staff will take place for a week in July in Augusta. The grant is comprised of $15,000 per school for professional development and to offset costs of textbooks and materials and $590,000 of in-kind services for the district.