Since 2003, students in a calculus class at Anderson High School have collaborated on a year-end project on a topic of their choosing, with the goal of bettering their community.
The project, compressed to two weeks of research and preparation, culminates with a formal presentation to district administrators and community members.
Calculus teacher Richard Ziuchkovski conceived the annual project as a way for his students to fill class time at the end of the school year.
“I have to step back and be the one that says, ‘I want you to figure out what you’re going to do,’” Ziuchkovski said. “Use the skills you’ve learned here in this building and change the world.”
This year, the student-led project focused on bringing a Spanish/English dual language immersion program to Anderson Community Schools, with Anderson Elementary School being the first school to introduce the program.
Junior Payge Richman, one of the presenters for the project, brought the idea for the project to the rest of the class. Richman said she chose the topic because she has seen what it is like when students are unable to communicate with each other.
“I’ve learned that there can be barriers with that, and there can be tension between students if they don’t speak the same language,” Richman said. “There’s a lot of ignorance with that – with people not liking students because they might not speak their language, or think they are saying something that they’re not. I was like, ‘Why don’t we teach a second language in elementary school?’
“I thought Spanish was the obvious choice with our school demographic and our students.”
Throughout the presentation, the students gave reasons as to why the program would have value for students, arguing it would help improve test scores, cognitive development, communication skills, cultural awareness and long-term career opportunities.
Richman and junior Clayton Campbell described ways to help teachers acclimate to the program, as well as suggesting a stipend to encourage teachers to learn and become bilingual.
To address the expenses that would accompany the program, the students gave examples of different grants and scholarships available, and suggested several community partnerships.
Junior Scarlett Aguilar Clark said that such a program would have been beneficial for her growing up.
“I did not know a lick of English before going into preschool,” Clark said. “My wonderful preschool teacher, she helped me a lot in learning English. I think learning in a program like this would have helped me so much more.”
Clark said familiarizing students with a second language at a young age would open more career paths for them as adults.
“Going through this program as children would help them overall connect with their community more and offer them more job opportunities in their future,” Clark said. “They would be able to go out of the country and go into Hispanic countries, and they’ll be able to communicate better with their colleagues or with customers or employers.”
During the presentation, the students gave examples of other Indiana schools that have implemented similar programs. One school they focused heavily on was West View Elementary School in Muncie, which has a similar demographic makeup as Anderson Elementary.
“We really want to use Anderson Elementary School, because they are just the perfect candidate for this,” Richman said. “When researching, we were like, ‘This is just like West View Elementary School in Muncie that implemented this.’ Their test scores and the whole Muncie community just skyrocketed after they implemented this program.”
Along with administrators, several members of the ACS Board of Trustees witnessed the presentation, including board President Mandy Webb.
“I think it’s something that is really attainable for ACS,” Webb said. “I know myself and the board members here today listened and are taking it very seriously, and we’re excited to take it back to the board members who couldn’t attend. This is something that not only could help test scores and student achievement, it could help our community and help our district grow.”
Webb said she hopes to add the students to an upcoming board meeting agenda so they can present their information to more people in the community.
Richman said bringing the program to Anderson Elementary School and the wider district would help everyone feel more connected.
“If we were to all learn another language, we would have so many more viewpoints,” Richman said. “We would be able to understand each other so much better. That’s how you bring change together. That’s how to bring peace together. Learning a new language, that’s just the first step.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.