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Washington, D.C.- Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) announced today that the International Academy of Flint would receive a $91,990 grant under the Foreign Language Assistance Program. The U.S. Department of Education awarded the grant to the International Academy of Flint to improve foreign language instruction by providing students with a more challenging curriculum. The International Academy of Flint is likely to receive additional funding for this program over the course of the next three years.
“This grant will allow the International Academy of Flint to pursue a more rigorous and challenging Spanish language program,” said Kildee. “Foreign language education is very important because it teaches students about diversity and provides them with a wider range of transferable skills and other opportunities.”
The International Academy of Flint serves a population of at-risk, high poverty students in inner-city areas. The International Academy already runs a Spanish language program 5 days a week for grades K-12. This funding will be used to run a program to supplement and improve on regular instruction, called the Spanish Accelerated Reader Book Club. The Accelerated Reader books and computerized quizzes will help motivate students to read and test their comprehension frequently. The program also includes a Reading Buddies program, a Guest Readers program and an incentives program to encourage students to become bilingual. The International Academy of Flint hopes to become a model for how public and private schools can improve foreign language instruction by encouraging reading and communicating in Spanish.
The Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP), administered by the U.S. Department of Education, provides grants to local educational agencies for innovative model programs providing for the establishment, improvement, or expansion of foreign language study for elementary and secondary school students. |
