Honors Projects

Abstract

As the Latinx population in the United States continues to rise, La Escuela SMART Academy — a bicultural school in Toledo, Ohio — serves as just one example of how educational systems are seeking to cater to their respective needs. Previous research provides us with information explaining why bilingual education is valuable and worthy of promotion — including cognitive, cultural, linguistic, and economic benefits — as well as best practices. Using this information, I create a set of conditions that, when met, have the best potential of yielding an effective bilingual institution. In order to determine where La Escuela SMART sits in terms of its fulfillment of these conditions, I use academic reflections based on classroom observations recorded in blog posts alongside publicly available information from sites such as Facebook to determine which conditions were met, partially met, or not met. I then use the results of this assessment to argue that, when implemented, certain governmental measures and incentives can be used to aid La Escuela SMART’s transition from a bicultural to a bilingual school. The findings made from this study will not only serve as a resource for La Escuela SMART, but other current and future bilingual institutions nationwide.

Department

World Languages and Cultures

Major

Political Science

Second Major

Spanish

First Advisor

Dr. Jeff Carroll

First Advisor Department

Philosophy

Second Advisor

Dr. Valeria Grinberg Pla

Second Advisor Department

World Languages and Cultures

Publication Date

Spring 4-24-2023

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