Delavan
Delavan, near the Illinois border, is home to a large Latine population, as well as the Wisconsin School for the Deaf.
American Sign Language
The district offers a full I-IV sequence of ASL, with a ‘“Voices Off” Policy to ensure ASL immersion.” at all levels. By the end of level IV, “students will show an acquired language fluency with the ability to communicate with a native ASL signer.”
Spanish for Native Speakers
These courses are created for students who speak Spanish as a home language.
Outcomes of participation:
Engage in intermediate to advanced conversation: provide and obtain information, express feelings, emotions and personal needs, and exchange opinions
Understand and interpret written and spoken language with a variety of topics
Present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics, demonstrating an intermediate to advanced level of vocabulary and grammatical structure
Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices, perspectives, and products of the Spanish-speaking cultures studied
Acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the Spanish language and its cultures
Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of Spanish and English
Show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the Spanish language both within and beyond the school setting
Dual Language Program
“Two-Way Dual Language (DL) classes are ideally made up of half English speakers and half Spanish speakers. Beginning in 5K, ninety percent of the classroom instruction is in Spanish. The percentage of English instruction increases each year. A Two-Way Dual Language program provides our English speaking children the opportunity to learn a second language, through academic content, alongside native Spanish speaking peers. Spanish speaking children have the opportunity to be instructed with English speaking student models, while developing their language skills through academic content. The optimal window of learning a second language is during a child's primary years. Both groups will benefit from the multicultural/multilingual aspect of the program.”
Image Credit: Anthony Wahl
Wisconsin School for the Deaf
“The Wisconsin School for the Deaf (WSD) is the only residential school for deaf and hard of hearing students in the state of Wisconsin. We operate under the direction of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and provide educational services for deaf and hard of hearing students ages 3 through 21.
In recognition of the diverse needs of Wisconsin’s deaf and hard of hearing children, the Wisconsin School for the Deaf is dedicated to educational excellence in a unique ASL/English bilingual-bicultural environment by preparing students to achieve their maximum potential and become successful citizens of the future.”
This program is unaffiliated with the Delavan-Darien School District.