SARASOTA – Academic excellence in English and Spanish. One Sarasota school is eliminating the language barrier through early education.
“It’s a superpower to be bilingual,” said Head of School at Dreamers Academy, Dr. Catherine Rodriguez.
Dreamers Academy is the first dual language school in Sarasota County, teaching English and Spanish in all content areas.
“You keep your language and native tongue, you keep your culture and not only that you have high academics here, it’s a rigorous program, it’s an enrichment program and you can later on add a third language, a forth language,” said Dr. Rodriguez.
The teaching model is 50/50, meaning one day in Spanish and the other in English. The school has nearly 200 students, from Kindergarten to second grade
“We’re not just building a school, we’re building a community of learners, were building a pipeline of bilingual professionals so when our students grow up they are competitive,” said Dr. Rodriguez.
Dr. Rodriguez says the curriculum would be impossible without the ‘Dream Team’
“It’s more difficult for older students or even older adults to learn a language but with kids they grasp on faster because they are developing still,” said Dual Language 1st Grade Teacher in Spanish at Dreamers Academy, Luis Dominguez.
“Their future will be a plethora of job opportunities and their future will be so much brighter just for having two languages,” said Dual Language 1st Grade Teacher in English at Dreamers Academy, Linda Diaz.
While education is the core mission of Dreamers Academy, the school also focuses on teaching students about their heritage
“Our teachers, our staff, our families, their giving the child the opportunity to be part of the journey and I think that Hispanic heritage is… we celebrate it every day it’s not just a month to us,” said Dr. Rodriguez.
“We might be the first dual language program in Sarasota County, but we’re not going to be the last,” said Dr. Rodriguez.
Dreamers Academy will expand their classes to fifth grade next school year.
Enrollment is now open to all students. For more information you can visit their website here.
