Pella Christian Grade School is the first school to achieve the addalingua endorsement, a coveted level of excellence and recognition among dual language immersion programs. Pella Christian Spanish Immersion Director Rebecca Gomez says addalingua, a Michigan-based education services organization, has been working in partnership with schools across the country to implement its brand of dual language immersion education since 2009.

“The addalingua endorsement shows that our Spanish Immersion program is a high-quality program that implements with fidelity to the addalingua model. It also proves our teachers are always keeping in mind our three-fold immersion goal: high academic achievement, grade-level bilingualism and biliteracy, and cross-cultural competence,” Gomez says.

Once programs are fully implemented, usually within five years, a “partner school” has the option to demonstrate full alignment to addalingua standards through a year-long rigorous self-study and evaluation that can culminate in “addalingua program endorsement.” Pella Christian Grade School has been a partner school since 2012 and offers Spanish Immersion at all grade levels K-8.