As director of instruction at addalingua, I’ve always said that our resources, professional learning and on-the-spot care were just what I needed as a dual language immersion classroom teacher and instructional coach. It’s the absolute reason I decided to join the team.
If you were talk with any of our addalingua partner program administrators or point people, they’d surely be able to share in detail how we work to support our partner programs for the long haul.
Recently, I had the chance to catch up with Heather Grisales, coordinator of our partner program in Grand Haven, Michigan. Heather’s story resonates loudly for a variety of reasons, perhaps most notably because she has extensive time invested in immersion education long before meeting team addalingua.
We believe you’ll find Heather’s story and perspective inspiring. Given her range of experiences in dual language immersion programs, she has great insights into the value of partnership with addalingua.
What’s your background? What did your professional experience entail before arriving at Grand Haven Christian to serve as their point person in the immersion program?
Born and raised in Muskegon, Michigan, I began taking Spanish classes in middle and high school and this continued into college, where I planned to study elementary education. My true passion and love for the language and culture took flight during a 6 month study abroad experience in Querétaro, México while in college. In 2002 I graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in Elementary Education and Spanish. In 2008, I earned my M.A. in Educational Leadership. Over the past 16 years through my profession, I was blessed to be able to travel, live, and study language and culture even further in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and Colombia.
Prior to working at Grand Haven Christian School as a K/1 early total one-way program teacher, I spent 15 years as a public school educator in an urban district in Michigan. 9 of those years I taught Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grades in a 50/50 dual language immersion program. 6 of those years, I spent as an elementary school principal, 4 of which were in a 50/50 dual language program. I am married to a native-born Colombian man, Carlos, and we have two daughters together. We are raising them in a Spanish language environment at home, while learning English on the side with family and friends.
In your previous immersion program, what were some things that you were looking for that seemed to be a struggle to find? Was there anything missing?
In my previous experience both in the role as a teacher and principal of an immersion program some of the greatest resources and supports that were missing were the lack of specific and quality professional development designed for immersion teachers, quality and relevant resources for teaching students in the program, a fully and purposefully aligned scope and sequence by grade for all aspects of literacy including grammar, word study, culture, vocabulary, writing, and reading materials.
What first struck you as an experienced teacher/leader about the way addalingua partnership and resources come together to support high quality immersion programming?
As a seasoned teacher, I quickly realized that addalingua has all of the resources I need to do my job well. All of the bases are covered, so to speak. The addalingua team thought about every single aspect of literacy and what immersion students need to succeed. The plethora of resources are endless and I didn’t even have the time in the week to fully use all of them as I desired. I also loved that at any point in time if I needed someone to talk to and get wisdom and ideas, I could set up an office hour and actually speak with someone who knows exactly or can relate to what I am experiencing.
What student results stood out to you as a result of addalingua supports?
The most significant student results I saw was the students’ willingness to speak in Spanish so quickly within the first 6 weeks of school at the Kindergarten level. This is thanks to the intentional LIOPT (Language of Instruction Only Policy and Timeline) and the amazing activities such as circumlocution and training videos to help you along the way. Students were also successfully reading with high levels of comprehension and accuracy by mid to end of the first year in the program thanks to the guided reading supports and resources addalingua provides.
Anything else you wish to share?
I have been in immersion education my entire career and have never felt the support that I am given through addalingua. addalingua is EXACTLY what all immersion programs need! The careful thought and planning that go into the addalingua Spanish frameworks by grade level is priceless as it lays everything out for you. The hefty work in the pre-planning is all done for you!
Equally important to know, it is not scripted curriculum, but rather a smorgasbord of wonderful tools that gives teachers the freedom to use their own experiences and creativity as they plan their week of teaching. addalingua provides teachers with the tools they need so that they can focus on the true goal: to create bilingual, multicultural, high-achieving, creative thinkers for our world!
Heather pretty much summed it up for us, folks.
We join programs on the journey.
And we stick together through resources, professional learning and ongoing, on-call, human-to-human support.
Every. Step. Of the way.
THAT’S the addalingua difference!
If you are interested in discovering the best addalingua program for your community, click here. If you want to read more partner school stories, click here.
December 4, 2018
