Alicia R. Chacón International School

Alicia R. Chacón International School (Spanish: Escuela Internacional Alicia R. Chacón) is a K–8 school in El Paso, Texas. It is operated by the Ysleta Independent School District.

Alicia R. Chacón International School
Escuela Internacional Alicia R. Chacón
Location
221 Prado Road

El Paso
,
Texas
79907

United States
Coordinates31.705087°N 106.348571°W / 31.705087; -106.348571
Information
TypePublic school
PrincipalRuben Cadena
Faculty48
GradesK–8
Enrollment792 (2014-2015)
Websitewww.yisd.net/aliciarchacon

Chacón has a two way bilingual education program that is intended to teach Spanish-speaking students English and English-speaking students Spanish.[1] Students may also take a third language; available third languages are Chinese, German, Japanese,[2] French,[3] and Russian.[2] The bilingual education program was developed to encourage speakers of one language to retain their language and to also learn a second language at the same time. This differs from other bilingual programs in Texas, where non-English speaking students are expected to learn solely in English once they achieve a certain competency in English. As of 2009 Chacón has long waiting lists of students. Nate Blakeslee of Texas Monthly argued that other Texas school districts should use Chacón's bilingual program.[4]

History

The school, which opened in 1995, was named after Mexican American politician and judge, Alicia R. Chacón.[5] Its two-way bilingual program for kindergarten through grade 3 opened that year as part of the U.S. Department of Education-funded Project Mariposa ("Mariposa" means butterfly), an effort between different school districts. Each following year an additional grade level with bilingual education was established; in 2000 the school's first eighth grade class graduated.[6]

In 1995 the school had 352 available spaces for students. By June 25, 1995 234 places were taken.[7]

Curriculum

Students are expected to gain a high level of literacy in Spanish. As of 2009 early grades course content is primarily taught in Spanish, but in later grades English becomes the predominant language of instruction. [4]

Mandarin Chinese, German, Japanese, French and Russian were to be offered in the coursework from the school's beginning.[7]

Student body

As of 2001 95% of the students are Hispanic and Latino, and the remainder belong to other ethnicities.[6]

References
  1. Howard, Elizabeth. "The Alicia Chacón International School." Center for Applied Linguistics, DC. Retrieved on January 11, 2010.
  2. Espino Calderón, Margarita and Minaya-Rowe, Liliana. Chapter 4: "Case Study: The Alicia R. Chacón International School." Designing and Implementing Two-Way Bilingual Programs. Corwin Press, January 22, 2003. ISBN 1483351858, 9781483351858. Start: 53. CITED: Start: 53. This confirms the presence of Chinese, German, Japanese, and Russian.
  3. "District Staff Directory". Ysleta Independent School District. Retrieved 2021-12-27. Teacher Foreign Lang French - This source confirms the presence of French instruction.
  4. Blakeslee, Nate. "Dream of a Common Language. Sueño de un Idioma Común." Texas Monthly. September 2009. Retrieved on January 11, 2010.
  5. "School Named After Chacon". El Paso Times. 15 June 1995. Retrieved 9 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Espino Calderón, Margarita and Minaya-Rowe, Liliana. Chapter 4: "Case Study: The Alicia R. Chacón International School." Designing and Implementing Two-Way Bilingual Programs. Corwin Press, January 22, 2003. ISBN 1483351858, 9781483351858. Start: 53. CITED: Start: 55.
  7. Renteria, Ramon (1995-06-25). "Get in character". El Paso Times. pp. 1F–2F. - Clipping of first page (1F) and clipping of second page (2F) from newspapers.com
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