Foreign Languages Department

Lisa Panaro
Coordinator of Languages Other Than English, 6-12

We strive continually to raise standards and levels of language proficiency, to involve an increasing number of students in longer sequences of language study, and to encourage students to become multilingual. We believe that:

• all students can be successful language and culture learners;
• language cannot be separated from the cultural context within which it is learned;
• language is best learned in meaningful contexts;
• language learning is cumulative and must be continuous over a long period of time in a sequential developmental program;
• language learning must begin with a strong foundation;
• students must have many and varied opportunities for practice;
• language development must be assessed frequently, over time, and in a variety of ways;
• language development must be oriented to present and future use;
• standards for communicative competence and cross-cultural skills must incorporate the dimensions of problem-solving, creative thinking, and students' awareness of how they learn best;
• linguistic self-confidence and independence motivate students to become life-long learners.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Students in the White Plains School District begin their study of language in grade 6. Children attending the Highlands Middle School may choose from French, Italian, Spanish, Spanish for Spanish Speakers, Spanish for Native Speakers and Mandarin Chinese.  Students who attend the Highlands Middle School also have the opportunity to study Latin as an enrichment class; this is in addition to their regular LOTE language.

Children attending the Eastview Campus may choose from French, Spanish, Spanish for Spanish Speakers, Spanish for Native Speakers, and Mandarin Chinese. 

HIGH SCHOOL

Students continue their language study at the high school where, upon successful completion of the NYS Regents exam, may apply for Honors and Advanced Placement courses in their respective language. The high school also offers accelerated courses in German, French, Italian, Spanish and Latin for those students who wish to begin the study of a second or third language.

ADVANCED COLLEGE EXPERIENCE PROGRAM (ACE)

The Advanced College Experience Program is an academic partnership between Westchester Community College and area high schools, which enables high school students to enroll in college level classes and earn college credit during their junior and senior years of high school. Classes are taught by approved, qualified high school teachers. All classes take place in the high school during the students' regular day. The LOTE department offers this option to students taking Italian 5 Honors and the Spanish elective, Proyecto BBravo.

TRIPS ABROAD

The LOTE department has a long history of providing students with many opportunities to travel abroad. Our trips to France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Costa Rica are an integral part of our program and they are planned and organized to directly align with the NYS Learning Standards for Languages Other Than English. Trips to each country are alternated every other year.