Making Connections through language: Bilingual Classrooms at KCC

Thank you to teachers Sorivel Carrasquillo (Ms. Sol) and Betzaida Narvaez (Ms. Betzy) for their contributions!

KCC is proud to serve a diverse community of students and parents, over 60% of whom identify as Latinx. We employ bilingual Spanish teacher assistants in many of our classrooms, and two of our Bronx classrooms are designated bilingual classrooms.

In a bilingual Spanish classroom, the teacher and teacher assistants are fluent Spanish speakers. Lessons incorporate both English and Spanish. Teaching staff are able to interact with families in their native language, facilitating communication and further enriching the learning experience. 

We spoke to our two bilingual classroom teachers, Sorivel Carrasquillo ("Ms. Sol") and Betzaida Narvaez ("Ms. Betzy"), about why bilingual programming is so important to both students and parents.

“The key component of a child’s success in his/her education is parental involvement,” says Ms. Betzy. “I enjoy providing parents with information, tools or strategies that will help them provide extra support at home which will allow the child to have the scaffolding they need to grow.” 

"What drove me to be a bilingual teacher was seeing how many students felt so comfortable and happy to interact and receive instruction in their native language," Ms. Sol says. "I also noticed that Spanish speaking parents felt more willing to attend school meetings and become more involved. They are happy to receive the students’ progress reports and be able to read them without having someone else translate them."

Culture plays a large role in bilingual classrooms. Ms. Sol sees how her students' faces light up and how proud they feel when she mentions a word, an expression, or something related to their culture that they recognize. "Culture provides a different dynamic in the classroom, especially in the bilingual classroom," Ms. Sol says. "It can enrich a lesson about transportation, about fairy tales, about celebrations, and so on."

When Ms. Sol first decided to become a teacher, she didn't think she was interested in preschool. But after a summer internship at KCC, she says, "I fell in love with the children. That summer experience changed my whole perspective about early childhood, and students with special needs." 

Ms. Betzy said that there were many challenges along the way to attaining her bilingual teaching certification, but she was able to finish the program with honors and is now using language and culture to connect with students in her classroom. "I make certain my classroom feels like a second home for my students where they are welcome, feel safe, and are treated with kindness and respect.” 

“I never thought of being a bilingual teacher until I started teaching at Kennedy Children’s Center. Working with children with different backgrounds and learning styles, I felt the desire to learn more about how I could support their learning in their home language. Kennedy provided me with the opportunity to do so.”

We are grateful to have excellent bilingual staff members like Sorivel Carrasquillo and Betzaida Narvaez on our team, making connections to students and families every day. ¡Muchas gracias!