New bilingual program at Cooke School in Waukegan

WAUKEGAN -- For the first time, Spanish-speaking kindergartners can enroll in a new bilingual program at Andrew Cooke Magnet School, an elementary school with a focus on fine arts and science.

The addition of the bilingual program could pave the way for a dual-language program in future years in which Anglo and Latino students would be taught in English and Spanish together in the same classroom, learning each other's language.

For now, the bilingual program at Cooke is starting out small with 14 students in one afternoon kindergarten class. Waukegan's other magnet school, Lyon, also has a bilingual program.

Arcelia Muñoz of Waukegan is happy her daughter, Litzy, can study in her native language, Spanish, while learning English. Her older son, Ivan, a sixth grader, attended Cooke before there was a bilingual program.

Although he scored average-to-above-average on standardized tests in English to enter the school, he struggled in class and never formally learned how to read and write in his native Spanish, which is spoken at home.

In contrast, her daughter is learning in both languages as a kindergartner this year.

"It's good the kids are in bilingual," Muñoz said.

To promote the new bilingual program, the school recently held a family reading night at the school with food catered from the Mexican restaurants El Ranchito Michoacano and Tacos el Norte.

Guillermina Santiago of Park City, whose son, Santana, is in the bilingual program, brought some Mexican-style rice that she cooked at home to share with parents. She said she was interested in enrolling her son in the bilingual program at Cooke instead of her neighborhood school, because, "They say that this school is very good."

The idea for a bilingual program at Cooke started last spring and there was an extra classroom available in the afternoon, said Principal Linda Meczyk.

Looking long term, the school is exploring the possibility of starting a dual-language program, she said.

Coordinating the bilingual program at the school is Edna Vega.

"We started with five students at the beginning of the school year and now have 14 kids. We're hoping to expand," Vega said.

Emily Ruiz, a kindergartner, went to preschool in Guanajuato, Mexico, last year. She is excited to learn ballet as a first-grader at the school next year, said her parents Ruben and Maria Teresa Ruiz of Waukegan.

"It's only been a short time in school, but she's improving well," said Maria Teresa. "She never wants to be late for school."