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Russian Immersion at Turnagain Elementary, Romig Middle School and West High School

The Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê’s (Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê) Russian Language Partial Immersion Program is a kindergarten through 12th grade program within Turnagain Elementary, Romig Middle School and West High School. Students become functionally proficient in speaking, reading, and writing both English and Russian. Young students have a natural advantage when learning a second language. 

“Partial Immersion” differs from traditional instructional approaches in which foreign languages are taught as separate subjects. In this program children are “immersed” in Russian language for half of the school day. English-speaking children learn to understand, speak, read and write the target language by hearing and using it constantly during normal classroom activities. Care is taken to ease students into the new language and to ensure comprehension. Progress and performance are carefully measured.

This program is one of only a handful in the country that offers the unique opportunity for students to learn a second language in an immersion environment and the only school in the U.S. to offer Russian. The immersion philosophy is used in many other countries as an effective method of language instruction and learning.

Entry into this program is in kindergarten and the first semester of first grade. Enrollment is determined by the Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê lottery system. Preference is given to students in the Turnagain Elementary attendance area and the siblings of current students

Students in this program are taught the Ê®·ÖÁùºÏ²Ê adopted curriculum. In all grade levels students have two teachers, one for each language. These teachers work as a team to integrate required subjects: math, science, social studies, language arts, etc. Subjects are taught in one language only.
Historically, students of immersion programs have high scores in standardized testing in all areas. Recent long-range studies show that overall achievement is high in immersion classrooms