Message from the Head of School

Message to the Parents

When I began Jardín de Niños Interlingua in September of 2007 I started with only 12 students. I am so thrilled to share with you that we now have 218 families currently enrolled at the two locations!! It is through your support that Jardín de Niños Interlingua continues to grow! We will be expanding to higher grade levels as well as adding additional amenities for the children during the 2011-2012 school year. It is a very exciting time for the school!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the parents for the continuous support that you have given to Jardín de Niños this year! It is the parents that really make the difference! I strongly believe that parents are the most important people in a child's life. Their love, affection, support and approval are fundamental needs of all children.

I also want to acknowledge and express my appreciation and thanks to all the teachers for being a part of the 2011-2012 school year. Our teachers are the core to what makes our school run successfully! Without their talent and dedication we would never be able to achieve our goals! I am so honored and humbled to have the privilege to work with your children; I learn so much from them! I feel extremely blessed to participate in their precious experiences that are so impactful to their lives. I love the fact that when you walk into our school you see smiles everywhere! For me this is a true indication of success!

I would like to share some of my philosophy. I am a lifelong learner myself. I believe that the most important thing we can do as educators is to focus on student results. How well do they perform in "real life" settings like speeches, role plays, and presentations? How well do they meet our standards and benchmarks? How well do they perform on standardized tests? Those are academic results.

In addition I strongly believe in student results that reflect the whole individual. How well do they interact with their peers? How is their emotional well-being? What is their passion? When we answer these questions with positive responses, then we know we are doing our job at Jardín de Niños Interlingua School. I also believe that in order for us to educate the child as a whole, we must get the families involved. What are the values of the families with which we work? How can we involve families in positive ways? Knowing the community is a requisite.

None of what I just mentioned is possible without two very important things: excellent teachers AND a spirit of collaboration. Hiring excellent teachers is the most important factor in guaranteeing positive student results. We can have all the "bells and whistles" but without talented, dedicated teachers and, a spirit of collaboration we would never be able to reach our goals. Diversity is strength, and the more diverse backgrounds the teachers have the better!

I strongly believe that in order to provide the best education possible a "balanced" approach is best. The balance between whole language and basic skills instruction, balance between student centered and teacher guided lessons, and finally balance between performance based assessments and test evaluations. Because many students tend to be visual and/or hands-on learners, it is my belief that most teaching should incorporate this style of instruction. Children are explorers and must have ownership of what they are studying. This is the joy of teaching and learning!

We are so happy we are now officially accredited with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). We are also in the process to be accredited by the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB). We are an official Candidate IB School!

I feel very positive that these new changes will help to consolidate our two schools into one unified and consistent educational institution. Such consistency and consolidation will assist in bringing a higher standard of quality to both schools. I ask for your continued and gracious support as we implement what we believe will be a positive systems improvement.

I appreciate your dedication to supporting Spanish immersion in Austin, TX. Your children will have such an advantage over monolingual speakers as they grow into a progressively more global economy that will demand conceptually and interculturally minded individuals who are able to make significant and positive changes in the world. Jardín de Niños Interlingua is proud to be a part of making that happen in the lives of young children.

It is an honor to be Jardín de Niños Interlingua President and lead a successful 2011-2012 year.

I look forward seeing your children grow and learn this school year!

Sincerely,