Alicia R. Chacón International School | |
Native Name: | Escuela Internacional Alicia R. Chacón |
Location: | 221 Prado Road |
City: | El Paso |
State: | Texas |
Zipcode: | 79907 |
Country: | United States |
Coordinates: | 31.7051°N -106.3486°W |
Pushpin Map: | Texas#USA |
Type: | Public school |
Grades: | K–8 |
Principal: | Ruben Cadena |
Enrollment: | 792 |
Enrollment As Of: | 2014-2015 |
Faculty: | 48 |
Alicia R. Chacón International School (Spanish; Castilian: '''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,[2] French,[3] 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.[4]
The school, which opened in 1995, was named after Mexican American politician and judge, Alicia R. Chacón.[5] 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.[6]
In 1995 the school had 352 available spaces for students. By June 25, 1995 234 places were taken.[7]
Students are expected to gain a high level of literacy in Spanish. early grades course content is primarily taught in Spanish, but in later grades English becomes the predominant language of instruction. [4]
Mandarin Chinese, German, Japanese, French and Russian were to be offered in the coursework from the school's beginning.[7]
95% of the students are Hispanic and Latino, and the remainder belong to other ethnicities.[6]