New To Hoboken: Dual Language Education

A buzz settled over the room as  a group of roughly 70 concerned—but excited—parents entered The Hudson School for a forum about the newest addition to Hoboken's educational landscape: HoLa, a new dual language charter school.

The Spanish immersion school is scheduled to open in September and will be enrolling students from kindergarten to second grade. A lottery was held to determine who would be placed, on Jan. 14. Every year, a grade will be added to the school, until fifth grade is reached.

The school will approach the typical core curriculum through the two-way Language Immersion approach in English and Spanish.  The idea behind it is that a child will become bilingual and biliterate—fluent in both languages.

The introductory session was set up by the school's five founders to have Hoboken parents listen to the experience of those who are familiar with dual language education. HoLa is the first dual language school in Hoboken. Jen Austin, a co-founder of the program and a professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Rutgers University, served as the moderator. 

The forum included educators, parents, and a student familiar with the program. One of the panelists, Jennifer Friedman, is the founder of a Spanish immersion school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She brought her son, who attends a dual language school himself, to the panel.

When asked about what parents can do to help facilitate their child's education, Friedman answered that it's important to seek out programs that foster growth of language acquisition outside of the classroom. She also emphasized that parents should be cautious in the approach they take with regard to their child's education, explaining that it's an interactive experience, which depends on parental involvement and initiative.

"(Children) are programmed to learn to communicate in any way they can," said Suellen Newman, director of the Hudson School, who served on the panel. By teaching them two languages starting at an early age, she said,  "you give them an immeasurable gift." 

Meanwhile, the parents were excited. 

"I'm definitely looking forward to it, and am excited to be on the ground floor of this program," said parent of a prospective HoLa student, Vincent Braccia. His wife, Deborah, said that they didn't have any concerns about the program.

"We are really excited for this opportunity for our son," she said.

Jen Staltaro, another prospective parent, said she initially had a few concerns about the program, especially about how her child would adjust to regular classes in Spanish. 

"As a parent you would have concerns about your child's education, whether it is a preschool or a dual immersion program such as this," she said. 

Jennifer Hindman Sargent, one of the school's founders, expressed optimism about HoLa's opening in September. 

"We are amazingly on schedule," she said. "A new director has been hired, teachers have been interviewed, and there currently is a waiting list for admission." 

And although the educational model isn't new, it's new to Hoboken. "The parents of strictly English-speaking children were somewhat apprehensive," Hindman Sargent said, "but overall the parents are feeling pretty good about it. They are confident that it will be successful, despite that it is new to the community."