Our Lady of Guadalupe (OLG), Dubuque’s only Spanish immersion program, is not only the first of its kind in Iowa but is also internationally recognized, offering a program shown to be the best method for teaching school children a foreign language.
Founded in 2002 and now located on the Wahlert Catholic High School campus, OLG offers students in preschool through the fifth grade the same core curriculum taught throughout Dubuque’s Holy Family school system, but the instruction is in Spanish. Spanish immersion begins with preschool students who are exposed to introductory words. After that first year, there is a gradual immersion process that allows children to become competent in writing and speaking in both languages.
“In kindergarten and first grade, it’s full Spanish so the teachers teach everything in Spanish,” said Kathleen Konrardy who is in her third year as school principal. “They learn math, social studies, science in Spanish, and they learn to read and write in Spanish. In second grade, we introduce English so 50% of the day is with an English-speaking teacher and 50% of the day is with a Spanish-speaking teacher. And that same model is followed in third, fourth, and fifth grades. Classes in math, science, social studies switch back and forth between English and Spanish. So, for example second grade math will be taught in English and third grade math is taught in Spanish. Fourth grade math is taught in English, and fifth grade math is taught in Spanish. That way students can learn the concepts and vocabulary in both languages. Also, we’re very fortunate that our special education teacher is also fluent in Spanish so she can support students who might be struggling.”
OLG launched in Dubuque in the fall of 2002 with eleven kindergarten students. In later years, additional grades were added. By 2015, the number of students had grown to 170 children in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Today, that number stands at 310 distributed in classes that run in size between 20 and 25 students. “We are almost always maxed out,” said Principal Konrardy. “We have a wait list. Pretty much every year we have as many students apply that we can take. We get to that waiting list point almost every year.”
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