International Honors for Silver Mesa Elementary
Felicitaciones, Silver Mesa Elementary. The Canyons District Spanish Dual-Language Immersion school received the prestigious International Spanish Academies designation during the International Conference on Immersion Education in Salt Lake City last week.
“It is quite an honor to be designated an ISA school,” Silver Mesa Principal Julie Fielding said. “Our teachers are amazing and are well-deserving of this recognition.”
ISA is an international cooperative educational project between schools in the U.S. and Canada and the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain. It aims to develop quality bilingual education programs promoting high academic standards for all children, provide multicultural education, and foster international relations and understanding.
The program identifies, recognizes and provides resources to enhance the efforts of exemplary programs dedicated to teaching Spanish language and culture. The Embassy of Spain supports these exemplary ISA programs through specialized visiting teachers, conversation assistants and providing professional development opportunities for educators, as well as study abroad opportunities for educators and students alike.
“Our students, whether they are in the immersion program or not, have the opportunity of learning about the Spanish culture, doing art, practicing greetings, and exploring Spanish holidays and customs. We are excited and grateful for this distinction for our school.”
Silver Mesa is the second Canyons District school to receive ISA model-school designation. In 2012, ISA recognized Alta View Elementary for excellence in its Spanish-English Dual-Language Immersion Program.
Both schools hosted visits from the Embassy of Spain’s new Education Counselor, Maria Jose Fabre Gonzalez, on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014. During the visit, the Counselor, who offices in Washington, D.C., was joined by representatives of the Spanish Embassy in Los Angeles and the Utah State Office of Education. Her tour of the Sandy schools was hosted by Canyons District Spanish Dual-Language Immersion Specialist Ofelia Wade.
