Principal's Message: World Language Choice 2025

Dear 5th Grade Families, 

I recently had the pleasure of visiting each elementary school with transition team members which was followed by meeting you at our parent orientation.  The 5th graders are excited about their future middle school.  We are in the process of scheduling students for 2025-26 and will continue throughout the spring.  The middle school program includes several subjects that are part of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program and meet the New York State mandates for middle-level education. 

As part of the new elementary world language program, Spanish has been introduced to students.  Daily instruction in World Language will be new for students in middle school and provide a choice for a new language. In certain circumstances, other support services may replace World Language in a child’s middle school schedule, such as a specialized reading program or a class for students new to the English language. 

All students enrolled in World Language will take a comprehensive exam in middle school at the end of grade 7. Completion of this exam, as well as passing each grade level course, will give students one high school credit.  Harrison High School offers pathways in world languages for students who received their credit from middle school, culminating in International Baccalaureate standard level and higher level courses.  There is also a pathway available for students who did not study a world language in middle school that begins with an introductory course to Spanish and culminates in Spanish ab initio, an IB standard-level course.

At the bottom of this page is a link to a form to fill out with your child’s choice for World Languages. LMK Middle School offers three options for World Languages:  Spanish, Italian, and French. Students who are native speakers of one of the languages offered should not enroll in that language in middle school as per IBMYP guidelines. Please discuss these choices carefully with your child since a change in language at the middle school level after the sixth grade is not recommended due to the sequential nature of the courses. 

The form provided in the link below will need to be completed, with your language choice, no later than March 14, 2024. We cannot guarantee any language choices made after this date. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of our school guidance counselors at 630-3057, Ms. Rinaldo, at 630-3384, or me at 630-3031.             

World Language Choice 
 

Scott Fried                                                                      Jennifer Rinaldo

Principal                                                                         Interim  Director of World Languages and ENL