History of the spanish intern program
and
Parent advocates for spanish immersion

Spanish Immersion in Sioux Falls

Spanish Immersion program

The Spanish Immersion program began in 2008. It was brought up to the Sioux Falls School Board by Shannon Graber, a French Immersion teacher from Minneapolis who moved to Sioux Falls, as well as many others who saw the benefit of being bilingual and bilateral for native English speakers. Shannon and the others lobbied the Sioux Falls School District to research it and the school board approved the idea. In 2006, the planning committee developed and the first class started at Rosa Parks in 2008. It started as one classroom housing 25 students. The program grew in popularity, so a second location was started at Robert Frost in 2012. Each class had the capability of enrolling 25 students. Shannon Graber continues to be an advocate of the language learning even after her children have graduated. 

As the program grew, a dedicated school where full immersion was built. Sonia Sotomayor opened its doors in 2016, and enrolled 25 students in 5 classrooms for a total of 125 students. The program now enrolls 108 students each year into four kindergarten classrooms. 

The first class entered Edison Middle School in 2014. Now the first class of the program has graduated, in 2021!

Dual-Immersion aka Two Way Immersion

As the program continued to grow, and the Hispanic population in Sioux Falls grew, dual immersion was developed. In 2019 at Hayward and Rosa Parks converted a classroom in their kindergarten class to start the dual immersion program. Each school has one classroom that enrolls 25 *** children each year. The schools were chosen as they were in neighborhoods that had higher Hispanic families, so it was a more natural fit. As well as having an elementary school on the west side of Sioux  Falls, and the east side of Sioux Falls helped make transportation easier. 

Heritage Speakers

In 2019 the Heritage speaker program was introduced into the 6th grade middle school. Heritage speakers are children who come from a Hispanic background, but have been in an English speaking only elementary school until 6th grade. They are able to take some Spanish Immersion classes to further learn about their culture.  

Parent Advocates for Spanish Immersion (PASI)

Pre-PASI...

Before the Parent Advocate for Spanish Immersion (PASI) group was created, parent donations of time and money helped with the program. Parents wrote grants, helped teachers write grants, and donated items/money helped set up classrooms. The Sioux Falls School District has always paid for one intern each year. Starting in 2022, the district increased that, to six interns, so that each kindergarten class could have one intern.

PASI began as a non-profit in 2010...

So again, as the program grew, the needs grew, so PASI was formed as a 503(c) organization. It continues today to help raise money for Spanish Interns, Intern medical expenses, Intern incidentals, teacher grants, and books. 

Parent Support and Parent Advocates for Spanish Immersion (PASI)

• 2010: Approved as a 503(c) organization and formed

• 2010: La Fiesta began. An annual fundraiser held at Washington High School that consisted of various performances by students, teachers, and interns each spring.

• 2017: Great Gatherings replaced La Fiesta as the primary fundraiser.