Stellar Dual Foreign Language Program!

Research shows that children who study languages are more imaginative, better with abstract ideas and more flexible in their thinking. Students of foreign languages also score statistically higher on standardized tests, such as the SAT. Consistently, students who have taken four or more years of a foreign language have scored higher on the SAT’s verbal section than those who have studied four years of any other subject according to the College Entrance Examination Board. In their adult life, bilingual people have access to a great number of career possibilities, and develop a deeper understanding of their own and other cultures.

HSPS places a high value in students experiencing, learning and speaking a foreign language. Our offerings include the following:

• Full four-year offerings at the high school level in both Spanish and French
• Regular Spanish instruction in grades Kindergarten through Fifth Grade
• Nine-week exploratory classes at the middle school

We have an outstanding team of instructors, which include Anne Payne and Karen Naile at the high school level and Monica Graham and Liz Dunn at the middle school and elementary schools. It is not unusual to hear unsolicited positive reports from colleges and universities regarding how our graduates perform in both Spanish and French. Just recently we received a letter from the Chair of the Department of Modern Languages at Alma College, recognizing our instructors for preparing a particular student who achieved high marks on a Spanish placement exam. Dr. Deborah Dougherty writes, “You and your institution are to be commended on the effectiveness of your Spanish teachers; obviously, you hold yourselves to a high standard, allowing your students to out-perform typical first-year students.”

The success of our Foreign Language Department is another example of our excellent faculty and staff working diligently to achieve academic excellence in each subject area.