Smith Academy
Encyclopedia
Smith Academy of International Languages is public K-8 magnet school
(elementary and middle language immersion
school combined) in Charlotte
, North Carolina
, United States
and part of the in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School (CMS)
District. All tuition takes place in the medium of the second language. The school educates over 1,000 student
s in grades K-8.
Tracks using Chinese
, French
, German
, or Japanese
as the medium of instruction
cover kindergarten through eighth grade, while the Spanish
immersion track covers grades six through eight. Chinese, which the school began to offer in 2006-07, was the most recently added language. The program, in Mandarin, was taught in kindergarten and first grade and will grow a grade level each year.
Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance
to the flag of the United States
in both English and their language of instruction. Immersion classes feature cultural lessons in addition to language
and subject teaching.
The school has effective relationships with universities in Germany and with the Visiting International Faculty program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
. This provides the faculty with development opportunities and resources. Overseas teachers also spend time at the school on secondment.
At the middle school level, Smith students continue to study their immersion language and can begin an accelerated course of study in a third language. Middle school students can also choose from a wide range of traditional elective courses as well as those that emphasize different languages and cultures. Middle school students also have the opportunity to participate in the same sports and extra-curricular activities available to all CMS middle school students.
Foundation Prize for Excellence in International Education in the elementary and middle school category.
After the initial success of the Bruns Avenue program, immersion programs were set up at other schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district. An early immersion program in French was started at Reid Park Elementary in 1994. Then in 1995 a two-way Spanish immersion program was established at Collinswood Elementary and in 1996 a partial immersion program in Japanese was introduced at Sedgefield Elementary. In 1997 rising sixth grade immersion students transitioned to a partial immersion program at Smith Middle School.
By 2001 three of the early immersion programs had combined at one site. Bruns Avenue now housed the K-5 French, German, and Japanese Immersion programs. In 2003 these immersion programs moved to the site of Smith Middle School and combined with the existing 6-8 partial immersion programs to become the K-8 Academy of International Languages.
Magnet school
In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
(elementary and middle language immersion
Language immersion
Language immersion is a method of teaching a second language in which the target language is used as the means of instruction. Unlike more traditional language courses, where the target language is simply the subject material, language immersion uses the target language as a teaching tool,...
school combined) in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and part of the in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School (CMS)
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is a local education agency headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the public school system for Mecklenburg County. With over 133,600 students enrolled, it is the second-largest school district in North Carolina and the twentieth-largest in the nation...
District. All tuition takes place in the medium of the second language. The school educates over 1,000 student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s in grades K-8.
Languages
Smith Academy offers students the unique opportunity to become fluent and literate in a second language through second language immersion instruction in Chinese, German, French, and Japanese. From the first days in Kindergarten, students are immersed in the new language. This produces students who are proficient in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in a second language. These intensive language programs are taught in the second language for all or part of the instructional day.Tracks using Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, or Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
as the medium of instruction
Medium of instruction
Medium of instruction is a language used in teaching. It may or may not be the official language of the country or territory. Where the first language of students is different from the official language, it may be used as the medium of instruction for part or all of schooling. Bilingual or...
cover kindergarten through eighth grade, while the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
immersion track covers grades six through eight. Chinese, which the school began to offer in 2006-07, was the most recently added language. The program, in Mandarin, was taught in kindergarten and first grade and will grow a grade level each year.
Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...
to the flag of the United States
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
in both English and their language of instruction. Immersion classes feature cultural lessons in addition to language
Language education
Language education is the teaching and learning of a foreign or second language. Language education is a branch of applied linguistics.- Need for language education :...
and subject teaching.
The school has effective relationships with universities in Germany and with the Visiting International Faculty program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. This provides the faculty with development opportunities and resources. Overseas teachers also spend time at the school on secondment.
Elementary School
From the first days in Kindergarten, students are immersed in the new language. This produces students who are proficient in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in a second language. These intensive language programs are taught in the second language for all or part of the instructional day.Middle School
Middle SchoolAt the middle school level, Smith students continue to study their immersion language and can begin an accelerated course of study in a third language. Middle school students can also choose from a wide range of traditional elective courses as well as those that emphasize different languages and cultures. Middle school students also have the opportunity to participate in the same sports and extra-curricular activities available to all CMS middle school students.
Achievements
96 percent of fifth-graders scored at grade level, in 2005, on North Carolina's annual testing program despite being taught in a foreign language. Also in 2005 the school was a runner-up in the Goldman SachsGoldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
Foundation Prize for Excellence in International Education in the elementary and middle school category.
History
The foreign language immersion programs in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system were initiated in the 1990s by then superintendent Dr. John Murphy as part of district-wide magnet school offerings. The first immersion program was opened in the summer of 1992 at Bruns Avenue Elementary School. It was an early total immersion program. The language of instruction was German. The first students were admitted to Kindergarten and First Grade immersion classrooms; the program grew by one grade level per school year as these original students progressed to the next grade, so that by 1996 Bruns Avenue Elementary had a K-5 total immersion program in place, with a complementary late immersion component for students entering in 2nd and 3rd grade.After the initial success of the Bruns Avenue program, immersion programs were set up at other schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district. An early immersion program in French was started at Reid Park Elementary in 1994. Then in 1995 a two-way Spanish immersion program was established at Collinswood Elementary and in 1996 a partial immersion program in Japanese was introduced at Sedgefield Elementary. In 1997 rising sixth grade immersion students transitioned to a partial immersion program at Smith Middle School.
By 2001 three of the early immersion programs had combined at one site. Bruns Avenue now housed the K-5 French, German, and Japanese Immersion programs. In 2003 these immersion programs moved to the site of Smith Middle School and combined with the existing 6-8 partial immersion programs to become the K-8 Academy of International Languages.