For decades, Montessori Center School (MCS) has offered its students ages 18 months through sixth-grade weekly Spanish language classes as part of its whole-child approach to learning.

Starting in fall 2024, the school will offer a Spanish immersion program and Mandarin language classes. 

Brenda Renteria, who previously worked at MCS as a Spanish teacher, will be returning to lead the Spanish immersion classroom, which will open with a kindergarten and first-grade classroom.

The immersion program will expand in future years to welcome students ages three through sixth-grade, helping students achieve biliteracy in a Montessori environment. Research shows that bilingual students exceed the achievement levels of their monolingual peers. 

Alongside the launch of the Spanish immersion program, MCS will offer a Mandarin language and culture class to children ages 3-12. Elementary families who are not enrolled in the Spanish immersion program can opt to participate in twice-weekly Mandarin lessons or continue with twice-weekly Spanish instruction.

“Building cultural competency is an integral part of Montessori’s curricular studies,” said Vanessa Jackson, MCS’s interim head of school. “We are excited to provide students with this enriching opportunity to learn in a multilingual, multicultural school environment that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.”

For more about Montessori Center School’s multilingual learning programs, contact Tyler Clark, director of admissions, at t.clark@mcssb.org. Learn more about Montessori Center School at mcssb.org.