Texas Spanish Academy

In an unassuming, cozy house near downtown Round Rock, sits a gem of a school – one that I wished I had available when my children were younger. The Texas Spanish Academy is a full Spanish Immersion preschool that serves children ages 6 weeks to 5 years.  Imagine the benefits of your children becoming bi-lingual before they ever go to kindergarten!

As I toured the Texas Spanish Academy last week, I was amazed at these tiny little ones all around me communicating in BOTH Spanish & English – even translating for me a bit.  I have always wanted to learn to speak Spanish, so giving your child the opportunity to learn at such a young age in such an easy way seemed brilliant.

The children at Texas Spanish Academy experience full immersion – that is all of the school curriculum is taught entirely in Spanish – with no English.  The staff loves on the children while teaching them songs, reading them stories, providing them with basic instruction & guidance all in Spanish. They don’t teach Spanish – the teach in Spanish.

The owner and Academy Director, Edina Morrison, opened the Texas Spanish Academy in 2012.  Her background is in bilingual special education and she developed the Academy after realizing that she wanted to create an environment for her children to be immersed in Spanish all day.  Realizing there was not many opportunities for a English/Spanish chlidcare center in Round Rock, it seemed like the perfect place to open. She created a small school family where the children are not just a number. Each teacher at the school knows each child by name, as they only accept up to 39 students.  The coziness of the school is overwhelming – children are loved on here while they are learning school-readiness skills.

Of course I had questions – Why should I teach my child Spanish if I don’t speak it and the elementary schools don’t offer it?  The Academy offers children the gift of another language – as Morrison put it, ” it’s the benefits of a ‘study-abroad’ program in Round Rock.”  And several RRISD elementary schools offer 2-way dual language classes where your child can continue to learn and speak in Spanish.

But if I don’t speak Spanish, how can I support my child? Parents don’t have to speak Spanish to have their child attend the Academy.  In fact, the school supports the parents communicating and teaching them in English – so the child has a balanced dual-learning environment.  Having your child speak Spanish may be the perfect motivation for the parents to learn as well.

Won’t learning 2 languages at such a young age confuse them? Morrison has done extensive research on this particular topic and can show you evidence that supports immersion in a second language enhances the English language development. And even more impressive, that multilingual children will eventually outperform their monolingual speaking peers.

The Texas Spanish Academy operates Monday-Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  They offer a preschool program from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm, with the option of extended care before and after school.  It is open year round and they do offer part-time enrollment.

Besides all the benefits of an full immersion program, the Academy has such a small family feel to it.  They offer events every month for families to socialize as well.  Saturday Spanish Funday is a time for families to sing songs, play games, do crafts on a Saturday morning at the school.  And this time is open to the public as well, so it is the perfect opportunity to see the school.  They also offer Parent’s Night Out and Family Night Out.

If you are considering a school change or are looking into a preschool program for your child, I highly recommend taking a tour of the Texas Spanish Academy to learn more about the program and hear first hand all the benefits your child will recieve.  My 3 children are past the pre-school age, but I really wish there was a Texas Spanish Academy around when they were younger.  Dual-language aside, most importanntly, they will be nurtured and loved on here and that is what we really want for our little ones, isn’t it?

Texas Spanish Academy is located 201 West Bagdad Avenue in Round Rock.  Their website is www.txspanishacademy.com and their number is 512-589-2931.

This is a sponsored post, however all opinions are my own.