Alicia R. Chacón International School

Alicia R. Chacón International School
Escuela Internacional Alicia R. Chacón
Location
Alicia R. Chacón International School
Alicia R. Chacón International School
221 Prado Road
El Paso, Texas 79907
United States
Coordinates 31°42′18″N 106°20′55″W / 31.705087°N 106.348571°W / 31.705087; -106.348571Coordinates: 31°42′18″N 106°20′55″W / 31.705087°N 106.348571°W / 31.705087; -106.348571
Information
Type Public school
Principal Ruben Cadena
Faculty 48
Grades K–8
Enrollment 792 (2014-2015)
Website Official Website

Alicia R. Chacón International School (Spanish: Escuela Internacional Alicia R. Chacón) is a K–8 school in El Paso, Texas. It is operated by the Ysleta Independent School District.

Chacón has a two way bilingual education program that is intended to teach Spanish-speaking students English and English-speaking students Spanish.[1] Students may also take a third language; available third languages are Chinese, German, Japanese and Russian.[2] The bilingual education program was developed to encourage speakers of one language to retain their language and to also learn a second language at the same time. This differs from other bilingual programs in Texas, where non-English speaking students are expected to learn solely in English once they achieve a certain competency in English. As of 2009 Chacón has long waiting lists of students. Nate Blakeslee of Texas Monthly argued that other Texas school districts should use Chacón's bilingual program.[3]

History

The school, which opened in 1995, was named after Mexican American teacher Alicia R. Chacón. Its two-way bilingual program for kindergarten through grade 3 opened that year as part of the U.S. Department of Education-funded Project Mariposa ("Mariposa" means butterfly), an effort between different school districts. Each following year an additional grade level with bilingual education was established; in 2000 the school's first eighth grade class graduated.[4]

Curriculum

Students are expected to gain a high level of literacy in Spanish. As of 2009 early grades course content is primarily taught in Spanish, but in later grades English becomes the predominant language of instruction. [3]

Student body

As of 2001 95% of the students are Hispanic and Latino, and the remainder belong to other ethnicities.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Howard, Elizabeth. "The Alicia Chacón International School." Center for Applied Linguistics, DC. Retrieved on January 11, 2010.
  2. ↑ Espino Calderón, Margarita and Minaya-Rowe, Liliana. Chapter 4: "Case Study: The Alicia R. Chacón International School." Designing and Implementing Two-Way Bilingual Programs. Corwin Press, January 22, 2003. ISBN 1483351858, 9781483351858. Start: 53. CITED: Start: 53.
  3. 1 2 Blakeslee, Nate. "Dream of a Common Language. Sueño de un Idioma Común." Texas Monthly. September 2009. Retrieved on January 11, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Espino Calderón, Margarita and Minaya-Rowe, Liliana. Chapter 4: "Case Study: The Alicia R. Chacón International School." Designing and Implementing Two-Way Bilingual Programs. Corwin Press, January 22, 2003. ISBN 1483351858, 9781483351858. Start: 53. CITED: Start: 55.


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