When Hylton High School PTO President Kelli Brenner brought an idea to foreign language teacher Claudia Deferre, the two put their heads together to make it come to life.
The idea involved designing a series of foreign language classes for students at Marshall Elementary School.
Students in Hylton High School's Center for International Studies and Languages (CISL) program would assist Marshall students with Italian, Greek or Spanish classes once a week during a month-long, after-school program.
The elementary students would receive 45 minutes of instruction.
"I shared some ideas I had with Kelli, and she organized the classes," said Deferre, who teaches Italian and Spanish at Hylton.
The classes, which began in the fall, were taught by parent and staff volunteers. A $10 fee covered materials and snacks. When one language series finished, the next began.
Students were grouped by grade, with one class for students in grades kindergarten through second, and another class for students in grades three through five. Students could sign up for as many languages as they liked.
"When I taught Italian, I was assisted by Emma Lewis, a CISL student at C.D. Hylton. By volunteering, Emma earned the points she needed for the CISL program," Deferre said. "Classes in Italian are offered at Hylton and Woodbridge High Schools, and through the transfer process, are open to all county students."
"We were so excited to do this!" Deferre said. "This whole project has been such a positive experience for both the students at Marshall Elementary and the student-mentors from the CISL program."
Courtesy of Prince William County Public Schools
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