Early Steps Bilingual Academy is a new preschool in Tyler that teaches young children Spanish through the Spanish immersion approach, as well as subjects commonly taught in other preschools.
The biggest problem owner Mireya A. Hicks has encountered since the academy opened in late May at 6096 New Copeland Road is that people assume the bilingual academy teaches Spanish-speaking children to speak English.
"One might think mostly Latino families send their children to Spanish immersion schools. This is not the case," Mrs. Hicks said.
"It's really geared for kids that don't speak Spanish and want to learn Spanish. There is a higher demand from non-Spanish speaking families for this type of school because parents understand the importance of children becoming bilingual at an early age and want their children to gain the exposure to the diversity which comes from a language immersion program."
The earlier children start learning a second language the better and it becomes natural for them, Mrs. Hicks said.
While one Hispanic parent wanted her child to attend to keep from losing his ability to speak Spanish, the academy is designed primarily to teach English-speaking children Spanish.
"I want people to understand we are not only teaching Spanish; we teach math, reading, science and social studies," Mrs. Hicks said.
Kipper Jones, mother of Ashley, 4, and Braxton, 3, sends her children to the bilingual academy because, she said, "I believe being bilingual has a lot of benefits not only in the future, but right now in the development of the brain and their view of being a world citizen."
Learning a second language expands their experiences and is a lot easier at a young age, Mrs. Jones said.
Her children are learning Spanish and English at the same time and are excited and comfortable about going to the academy, she said.
Her husband, Shawn Jones, said it's proven that kids can learn a second language at an early age.
"The more you incorporate two languages, the easier other learning aspects are," he said. "It opens up their learning potential and Spanish is a really important language to know."
Immersion is defined as a method of foreign language instruction through a regular curriculum.
"At Early Steps Bilingual Academy, we balance English and Spanish instruction to ensure students learn the languages while obtaining the regular school curriculum," Mrs. Hicks said.
Children are immersed in the Spanish language through songs, role-playing, arts and crafts and visual aids. The program revolves around monthly themes as well as library and story time.
There are obvious advantages for the children knowing a second language in the future for travel, work or study, Ms. Hicks said. Beyond that, she added, evidence shows that children who learn a second language at an early age will have a lot of social and intellectual advantages.
"Children that speak two languages are more creative, more effective problem solvers, more capable of handling multi-tasks, have longer attention spans and have positive attitudes toward other cultures. They score higher on standardized tests in English and attain higher levels of academic achievement," Ms. Hicks said research has found.
"Learning a second language actually complements and enhances a child's native language development," she said.
Early Steps Bilingual Academy is the first of its kind in East Texas, Mrs. Hicks said, although there are several preschools in Dallas and Austin that teach children Spanish.
The way Tyler is growing made Mrs. Hicks think it is time to provide something for preschool kids to learn Spanish here.
"We are proud to be the pioneers in East Texas with this type of program," she said.
"I have been thinking and planning this for so long because I thought there was a necessity here in the community to bring the Spanish immersion program to the area," Ms. Hicks said. "Language immersion is the fastest and most effective way to achieve fluency in a language, especially if it starts at an early age."
Sindi Newberry, mother of Nolan, 3, and Canela 2, said she understands the importance of dual language. "I saw a difference immediately in them" after her children started attending the academy, Mrs. Newberry said.
"The more languages you know, the brain starts thinking differently and you will be able to do better in life and have more opportunities," she said.
The academy accepts children from 18 months old to 4 years old and operates from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. year-round. Children may attend Monday through Friday or part-time from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday or from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. The academy even accepts drop-ins and can arrange Saturday lessons.
Parents can enroll their children any time. For more information, call 903-630-7363. Tuition includes breakfast, lunch and a snack.
"We have an excellent team of native-speaking, qualified, highly trained teachers with college degrees," Mrs. Hicks said. The academy currently has three teachers.
As owner, Mrs. Hicks, who is from Ecuador, has taught bilingual fourth- and fifth-grade classes in Tyler ISD for 15 years. Her partner, Marcia Trifilio, who is from Bolivia, has worked in early childhood education in Tyler ISD for 18 years.
"We started working on the curriculum a few years ago, collecting furniture, materials and ideas," Mrs. Hicks said. "We have visited many schools like this in Spanish immersion in the Dallas area and I even went to a place in Boston, Massachusetts."
There are more than a thousand Spanish immersion schools in the U.S.
"It is the fastest-growing and most effective type of foreign language program in the U.S. This is something that is growing very fast," Mrs. Hicks said.
The youngest children, ages 18 months to 2 years old, are developing their language and vocabulary so the academy teaches them that there are two words for every new word they learn … two words for milk and water, for example.
The curriculum for ages 3, 4 and 5 focuses on a theme and regular preschool curriculum along with teaching Spanish.
In two weeks, the first enrollees learned to say in Spanish "I am hungry, I want water, I want milk, I need to go to the bathroom and I am cold."
"We are trying to get these kids to enjoy Hispanic culture and to appreciate other cultures, not just Mexico, but Spain, Ecuador, Bolivia and a lot of nationalities," Mrs. Hicks said.
The academy is licensed by the Texas Department of Family and Child Protective Services.
It is housed in a 4,000-square-foot facility with two large classrooms, a fenced playground with wooded area for walks and plenty of parking spaces.
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