HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL SIGNS UNPRECEDENTED AGREEMENT WITH SPANISH MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

by Samuel Gilstrap, LAUSD Dept of Communication in LAUSD Daily | http://bit.ly/1MKVn6E

 

Oct 17, 2015 | Hollywood High School is expected to become the first non-university campus to host a Spanish language resource center in partnership with the Spanish government this fall.

The school’s principal Alejandra Sanchez joined Hilda Maldonado, executive director of the LAUSD’s Multilingual and Multicultural Education Department, and Maria José Fabre González, education counselor from the Embassy of Spain’s Education Office, in signing an agreement of collaboration, which paved the way for a new partnership between the District and Spain’s Ministry of Education.

The new Spanish Language Resource Center will offer support to educators, parents, students, and others interested in teaching or learning about the Spanish language. The center — which will be accessible directly from the street on the west side of the campus — is expected to offer an extensive library, including didactic materials, literature, encyclopedias, books, videos, online materials, and and teacher training courses. The center will also be involved in organizing cultural events related to the Spanish language and culture for faculty enrichment and cultural exchange.

“We are excited about this effort as a way to nurture and cultivate a world language program that allows students not only to study but really experience languages multidimensionally,” Sanchez said. “This is not just for Hollywood High School … We are opening the program to neighboring high schools such as Fairfax and Bernstein, as well as our feeder middle schools, which are already offering strong programs in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. This helps strengthen school families as well as inter-school partnerships.”

“I believe that the presence of the resource center here is going to be like a seed we are planting from which cultural activities will begin to grow,” said Fabre González in Spanish. “We need to take advantage of circumstances that will allow us to unite forces and cultures. We are not talking about just one part of the population but bringing together Spanish-speaking cultures across the world.”

Maldonado noted that the facility will be open in the evening and will be accessible from the street, promoting a sense of community around language education.

“This agreement of collaboration will provide the space, books, videos, and other resources that teachers, parents, and others can use to enhance the education of students in the Spanish language,” Maldonado said.

The new resource center is expected to be opened at the school in about a month’s time accompanied by an opening ceremony.