Enrollment for Fall 2013

We have concluded our school tours for the Fall 2013 enrollment period.  We have also completed the first phase of registration, which was kindergarten line-up on January 14th.  If you missed the kindergarten line-up, please call our office at, 323.255.1434, to inquire about classroom visits and registration.  You are also welcome to email Angelina Sáenz, Program Lead Teacher, with any questions at sra.saenz@gmail.com.  Thank you so much and we look forward to speaking with you.

Aldama Dual Brochure

Learn all about our program.  Download brochure here!

Dual Language Line-up, 1/14 @ 7am!

The moment we've all been waiting for! While Ms. Jung and I are barely, mid-year with our current little ones, we're already planning and preparing for the next cohort! HOW EXCITING!!!!!!!! Please see message below regarding line-up on Monday and feel free to pose questions to this thread, and current families,

please feel free to answer questions as they are asked! Yay! Señora Sáenz

- The Transitional Kindergarten (TK) day will begin at 8:05 am and dismiss at 2:34.

-The afterschool care that is available on campus is LAs Best. In addition,

families hire someone to pick their child up from school at dismissal. There may

also be a movement to have Celebration Kids pick up children in a van and take

them back over there. It is a long day for young children, so if they can go

home at dismissal, or to a home daycare, that would be ideal.

-There are no documents required for 1/14. It is only to line-up and receive

your registration appointment. If you are one of the first 24 to receive an

appointment, assuming you complete all of your documents by registration time,

your enrollment is considered guaranteed.

-Doors to receive a registration appointment open at 7am. Families line-up

earlier. In all honesty, while there are families who arrive at 3:30am, the buik

of families begin to arrive by 5am. It is a first-come, first-serve process. We

are usually done handing out appointments by 7:30.

-The year will be mid-August to end of May.

-There are no summer school programs at this point. Señora Sáenz does do summer home visits to do a literacy interview, to answer questions and to meet the children.

-I would highly recommend that you join our listserve at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AldamaDualLanguage/ , as well as, "like" our

Facebook (Aldama Dual Language/Aldama Dos Idiomas) page to both pose

program/afterschool care/resource questions to the larger community, and to keep abreast of all the events and developments in our program.

-I will be at the registration table on Monday morning, and I look so forward to

meeting you. Please do not hesitate to write with further questions. Thank you!

Letter from a happy Dual Language grandparent!

A parent asked if a grandmother could observe our kindergarten Dual Language classroom. I didn't know why a grandmother would want to visit, but Ms. Jung and I said yes.  The following week the grandmother observed our Dual Language Kindergarten classrooms for two hours. When the grandmother left, she was so happy.  She said that she was so pleased with what she had seen and that she was very happy that her grand-daughter has the opportunity to be in our program. Curious, I asked her to write a reflection of what she experienced and this is what she sent me. If you have any grandparents who have shared their feelings about our Dual Language Program, please send them my way, or add to this post in comments below. Thank you. Señora Sáenz

"I was delighted to spend a short time in Mrs. Saenz’s kindergarten class where my granddaughter, Lilly is a student. Her mother had visited the class and school earlier to decide whether to enroll her there or for Lilly to continue attending her Montessori school. After the visit, she was excited yet apprehensive to enroll her in a Dual Language Immersion program. She asked me to visit the classroom since I am a retired elementary school principal and had worked with biliteracy programs in San Diego.

I was quite impressed with the strategies that were implemented throughout the lessons. English speakers were combined with English Language Learners where the instruction was solely in Spanish. It was evident that it was important to use animation and expressive gestures in order for all students to understand the instruction. There were clear demonstrations so that students would comprehend the lesson and tasks. There did not seem to be confusion by the English-only students to know what was expected from them since they observed the teacher and other students illustrate the expectations. The process for each step of the lesson was clearly and dramatically demonstrated by the teacher.

I observed my granddaughter’s actions to know whether she understood the objectives of the lesson. She very confidently participated in the assignments and would also observe her classmates when she was unsure of exactly what to do. It was a stress-free environment that invited partner work and a cultural exchange that enriched my granddaughter’s educational experience. In fact, later that weekend, while we were in the swimming pool, she loved singing “araña pequñita” over and over and loved to trill her r’s! She is truly benefitting from this rich Dual Language Immersion program. I am excited to have her continue in this enriching academic experience and know she will benefit greatly from it. Above all, she loves it!

I also observed Mrs. Saenz partner teacher, Ms. Jung, who teaches in English. Again the lesson was clearly explained with demonstrations, partner talk and critical thinking strategies. The students in these classes will profit from the excellent teaching practices by these outstanding teachers."

Cecilia Estrada 9/21/12

Aldama in the Sunday Times!

Courtney Mykytyn, a mother of two children in the Aldama Dual Language Program has written an Op-Ed piece in the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times which you can read here.  It is a testament to our hard work, the beauty of our community and our commitment to a multi-cultural, bilingual and diverse future!  Bravo Ms. Mykytyn!

Aldama Dual Awarded UCLA TIIP for 2 more years!

The Aldama Elementary Dual Language team has been awarded two more years of additional funding with the UCLA Teacher Initiated Inquiry Project grant.  The Aldama teachers requested a second cycle of funding to include deeper study of student achievement and program impact of the implementation of Reader's and Writer's Workshop, Balanced Literacy, Project G.L.A.D., Cognitive Guided Instruction in Math and Language Learning and Acquisition.  


The grant team further requested funding to be trained in the Critical Friends Group-Professional Learning Community approach to our teacher-driven and created professional development, as well as, training in the Ruler Approach at Yale University which is a program that acknowledges emotions as integral to learning, making sound judgements, forming healthy relationships, physical and mental health, and achievement both in and out of the classroom. 


The funding through the UCLA TIIP grant allows us to also purchase high-quality, leveled readers for our classroom libraries.  


Congratulations!!! 

Aldama Dual: Student Centered with Transformative Pedagogies

Aldama Dual Language teachers understand that every classroom is filled with learners who have a diversity of learning readiness, interests and learning styles.  We have been dedicated to our own professional development in student centered and transformative learning processes and employ the following approaches in our classroom on a daily basis:  

Columbia University Teacher's College Reading and Writing Workshop and Balanced Literacy

The UCLA Math Project's Cognitively Guided Instruction in Math

Project GLAD - Guided Language Acquisition and Design

Occidental College Foreign Language Project - Best Practices for Foreign Language Teachers

Project Based Learning

FOSS Science