World Language Collaboration in Washington, D.C.

In October, members of the Preschool and Lower School World Language team at University School of Milwaukee participated in three independent school visits in the Washington, D.C. area. Gina Merino and Laith Al-Msaibeeh visited The Langley School, Georgetown Day School, and Green Hedges School. The purpose of the trip was to observe those schools’ preschool and lower school language programs in action, and to collaborate with other world language educators.

This visit grew out of a professional connection that Merino and Al-Msaibeeh made during FLESFEST, a virtual world language conference held last school year. As a result of the conference, Merino and Al-Msaibeeh—who is Wisconsin’s representative for the National Network for Early Language Learning and conference co-chair—both met keynote speaker Glenda De Hoyos. Thanks to this connection, they were able to visit other schools and spend time in classrooms, exchange ideas, and discuss best practices with teachers who share their passion for early language learning.

“The experience was both inspiring and affirming—reinforcing the strength of our own world language program and current practices here at USM,” said Merino. “We returned from D.C. with new ideas, new professional connections, and a renewed sense of purpose for our shared work in helping young learners build language and cultural proficiency.”