Mission/Vision/Pedagogy
Mission
Why do we Exist?
West Putnam Dual Immersion VUELA Program will provide all students with an education that allows them to be bilingual/bi-literate and achieve high academic performance in more than one language and develop a sociocultural competence and bilingual identity to positively impact our diverse global society.
Vision
Who do we hope to become?
West Putnam Dual Immersion VUELA Program will empower students to be competent, confident, compassionate, bilingual/bi-literate collaborators who have a deep sociocultural competence and demonstrate high academic achievement in more than one language.
Literacy Pedagogy
West Putnam staff believe in developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Spanish and English through instruction that follows a balanced literacy approach focusing on oracy development. Students will engage in rigorous standards-based integrated units of study (language, literacy, content) that promote inquiry and the co-construction of knowledge.
At West Putnam, instruction will be data-driven and include student-centered practices, with ample opportunities to engage in whole group, small group, and partnered discussions and/or collaborative activities that support and help extend the learning. Language development supports (sensory, graphic, interactive) and biliteracy strategies will be purposefully planned to ensure differentiation. The Bridge will be used to develop metalinguistic awareness; students will transfer knowledge and engage in contrastive analysis. Targeted intervention/acceleration models will be provided in both languages.
We believe students at West Putnam will develop social competence through access to diverse texts, rich resources, real-life experiences, and exposure to different cultures.