Holliston's French immersion program nominated for national award

Pasted next to the door, the small Eiffel Tower icon provides the first clue: Placentino Elementary School's Room 7 holds no ordinary kindergarten class.

Inside, the names for the animals and shapes plastering the wall are in French. The picture books are in French. Even the wording on the play kitchen oven mitt is in French.

During a recent lesson, Ms. - make that Mademoiselle - Kendra Mason sat in a rocking chair and led her 21 rug-parked kindergartners through the date, the weather and some numbers before turning to a story - all in rapid-fire, sing-song French.

While they mixed in some English, the students gave a number of responses in the foreign language.

"It's amazing to see how far they've come from the beginning of the year to now," Mason said in English during a snack break.

Marking the end of its 30th year with the close of classes tomorrow, the Holliston French immersion program is just one of two offered by Massachusetts public school systems, a distinction the town shares with Milton.

Now the town's elementary school foreign language program has been nominated for the Melba D. Woodruff Award, given by The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, the highest honor in the country for such instruction at the K-to-5 level.

"I think that represents Holliston's commitment to innovation," Superintendent Brad Jackson said.

While the nomination also cites the somewhat-less-intense elementary Spanish program - all Holliston elementary students take a foreign language, another town distinction - French immersion came first and provided the program's base, those involved say.

At the time of the immersion program's 1979 founding, Holliston was only starting to experience a change in its demographics. So the founders turned to French as their language of choice, given Canada to the north and the background of Woonsocket, R.I., to the south.

But ultimately, the choice was not as important as the basic idea, said founder Terry Caccavale, still the program's director.

"It's not what language we're teaching," she said. "It's about what learning a language can do for a child."

During her lessons, Mason speaks solely in French, providing prompts and encouragement. Her kindergartners can speak English if they need to, but they still respond to many things in the foreign tongue. Recitation precedes creative expression, and by the end of the year they know 2,000 words.

At the start of first grade, the students are permitted to still mix both languages for the sake of review, but by November a French-only requirement is imposed for the majority of the day, with a 50-minute block in English elsewhere in the building for specialty subjects such as art.

"By first grade we know we need to push them," Caccavale said.

All of second grade is French-only, apart from the special 50-minute lessons. From third to fifth grades, the day is split in half when it comes to language. Immersion then continues at the Middle School, where each day includes just 38 minutes of French instruction, and the High School, where each program student has just one semester-long French course each year.

"By that time, they are so fluent, it's so ingrained in them," Caccavale said.

Immersion costs no extra money, and the curriculum is the same as for other students at each level. While English comprehension often lags for the youngest immersion students, the students quickly catch up once formal instruction in their native tongue is introduced, Caccavale said.

Taking a break from writing in her journal recently, first-grade immersion student Leah Keys explained in English that it was hard to start speaking French, but that she eventually got the hang of it.

"Then it was easier for me to be in the French class," she said.

Foreign language lessons in elementary school - and particularly immersion - are shown to improve academic performance later on, Caccavale said, and can help students learn a third language and prepare them for a more globalized economy. A number of graduates have secured jobs with multinational firms, she said.

"We have what every other district wants to have," Caccavale said of the French and Spanish comprehension. "I think Holliston was ahead of the curve."

The immersion program has proven popular with parents, too, with a lottery for the limited spots many years. Last year, some parents unsuccessfully sought automatic entrance for younger siblings of participants.

With the elementary language program now up for national recognition, parents have written letters in support of the nomination.

"Whether or not we win this award, the number of people who have written letters...," Caccavale said, her words momentarily trailing off. "People need to see these letters."

(Michael Morton can be reached at mmorton@cnc.com or 508-626-4338.)