Strong Demand for Spanish Immersion Program in Town With Dutch Heritage

PELLA, Iowa –Learning a new language takes work, but students in a few Iowa schools are picking up a foreign language while studying their core curriculum.

It can be hard to follow along in one of the third grade classrooms at Pella Christian Grade School, unless you speak Spanish. Student Sarah Decious said, "Sometimes it gets a little hard, but once you have a little bit of help, you get adjusted to it."

Decious and her classmates speak it fluently. They are part of the Spanish Immersion Program at the school, which is located in the Central Iowa town with Dutch heritage. Spanish Immersion Point Person Rebecca Gomez said, "People say why wouldn't you do Dutch instead of Spanish? Spanish is a gateway language. If you learn Spanish, it's going to open it up for you to learn other languages, especially romance languages."

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