The Hispanic presence in the United States and in the Twin Cities has become a phenomenon that cannot be ignored by any one in our culture. It is estimated that by the end of the next decade that the largest minority in our country will consist of people of Hispanic roots. The Saint Paul schools and some other districts have decided to recognize and to help us plan for this Hispanic presence by creating an immersion school in which students of any background may learn the Spanish language. In Saint Paul, at the Adams Spanish Immersion Magnet, all content, except English, is presented and learned in Spanish. As is the case with any learning environment, there are always students who require extra attention for whatever reason.

The Service goal for students of the Hispanic Themes course was to help teachers and students provide the needed extra attention that students may require be it for reading, mathematics, or even English. All students in this course, Hispanic Themes / Temas Hispánicas, were required to participate in this Service-Learning experience or in another project approved by the course instructor.

The Learning goals were several: 1) provide students a new way of learning about the implications of the Hispanic presence in our country, 2) demonstrate an understanding of the immersion concept in teaching and learning and how it relates to the theme of Hispanic in the US, 3) gain information about the variety of ethnic and racial groups that comprise the student body of the school, 4) find information about the reasons why parents of these various ethnic and racial groups chose an Spanish immersion setting for their children, 5) relate that information to the themes discussed in the Hispanic Themes / Temas Hispánicos course, 6) learn of the value, presence and contributions of Hispanic culture in US mainstream culture, 7) gain exposure to a possible career choice, and 8) gain experience using Spanish for real-life needs.

Prior to actually serving in the school, my students and I received a brief orientation to the tutor/mentor concept by the Director of Tutor/Mentoring programs at the University of Saint Thomas. During the same time frame, we also received a visit from the principal of the Adams Immersion school, Emily Acosta-Thompson, who spent an hour with us discussing the history of the immersion concept as it has existed and evolved in the Adams school. Finally, I accompanied the students to the Adams campus for a brief tour that culminated in a visit with the teachers during one of their bi-weekly staff meetings.

Armed with enthusiasm and a set of standards to guide them in their tutor/mentor experience, the students met the teacher and students with whom they would work for a minimum of two hours a week. They also were ready to begin obtaining the information they would need to fulfill all of the project's goals. During their time with the Adams' students and the teachers, my students needed to do the following: 1) tutor/mentor students of assigned grade level(s) at least two hours a week for at least two months, 2) interview school administrators, teachers, and staff about the goals of the immersion program, their expectations, perceived results, and/or limitations of the program, 3) interviews parents and students about their expectations, perceived results, and/or limitations of the program, 4) participate as a teacher aide (as designated by the Adams teacher(s)).

As the semester rolled along, students shared their experiences (successes and problems) in the class during time set aside specifically for them to reflect on what they were experiencing and learning during their time at the Adams school. This brief time for reflection enabled them to highlight aspects of their experience that otherwise might have gone unnoticed. One observation that some of the students mentioned was that they wanted to be more involved in the classroom than their host teachers seemed prepared to allow them to be. I spoke with the teachers and assured them that my students were very eager to do something more than correct papers or enter grades. They wanted to involve themselves in the actual learning process in order to get a sense of what it was like to learn Spanish, as well as, to impart learning in this unique setting for language acquisition. Most of the teachers were happy to receive the feedback since they were not sure what they were allowed to have the students do while in their classrooms. As the semester progressed, the types of duties and interactions diversified among my students, the teachers and the students.

We dedicated class time to develop a set of interview questions students were to complete before they gave their presentations at the end of the semester. We developed 20 questions in Spanish that were divided into categories that reflected the type of information need to fulfill certain project goals. Students could select from each category and come up with at least a subset of 11 questions. Students also maintained a journal of their impressions and experiences. The journal's content helped them to order their thoughts as they began to relate the experiences they were having with the goals of the project, especially that of expanding their knowledge of the impact of the Hispanic presence has in our society.

Students decided that they would like a variety of formats from which to choose in order to present their observations in their final project. They decided on three: 1) a collage with accompanying narration, 2) a reflective essay, and 3) a PowerPoint presentation. Students could share their projects alone or in groups. Most of them opted to pool their energy which resulted in presentations filled with some very insightful observations and analyses of their experiences.

The investigations the students accomplished during the semester in order to fulfill the project's goals were varied and revealing. Perhaps the most worthy of note was the finding that the term, "One-way immersion', is no longer accurate according to the most recent demographic studies of the school's population. How to allocate resources originally meant to service a monolingual population in a one-way immersion program is a prime concern.

The Saint Paul School District and the Adams Immersion school are now faced with challenges beyond their fundamental charge of providing an immersion experience to a homogenous group of students. They now must also serve the emerging demands related to the increased presence of Spanish-speaking students and other non-majority language groups. At Adams, students who qualify for ELL instruction now comprise 35% of the student population (20% are currently receiving ELL services). District-wide ELL enrollment is 41% (Palabaras, 2002). In other words, students of other cultures, especially, if not almost exclusively, Hispanics, are opting to attend Adams where they need to learn the majority language-English. This shift in language base has necessitated the re-allocation of already scarce resources of all types, and has led to the need to re-think the basic intent of the school as a place where majority-language learners go to learn a minority language, Spanish, in an immersion setting(Fortune, 2001). The change in the language background of the newest students, and of those who are forecasted to attend the Adams school would require the adoption of a new paradigm; Two-way immersion. In this model, language-minority and language-majority students old be integrated for at least 50% of instructional time at all grade levels (Fortune, 2001). The question that emerges in many conversations is: Can it be done with existing, or dwindling resources?

One other very revealing observation concerns the relationship of the school to the needs of the new segment represented by the families of these Spanish-speaking students. The interviewers found that these families are not being mainstreamed as readily as would be hoped, if at all. This group of parents do not attend the PTO (Parent-Teachers Organization) meetings. Because they also do not possess strong skills in English, they are reluctant to voice their ideas and concerns in that venue. Lately, the school has initiated Latino Parents nights where these parents come to share food and their concerns in Spanish. Unfortunately, the two parent groups have little contact and therefore mutual solutions are seldom forthcoming. The PTO, therefore, appears to dominate in the political arena as the representative of the majority-language parents.

At the end of the experience, my students and Adams staff completed a survey in which they rated and commented on various aspects of the Service-Learning experience. In summary, students felt the experience to be a very valuable to their understanding of the Hispanic presence in the US and especially in their more immediate community. Several felt that having gone through it had solidified their decision to become Spanish teacher in the future. Others commented that the experience forced them to evaluate their proficiency in the language. With some embarrassment, some of my students commented on how much more the fourth or fifth- grade students they helped were able to comprehend in the language than were they. UST students felt that during the limited amount of time they had spent with the students that they were taken first, by the amount of learning that was taking place, and secondly, by the extreme dedication to the students and the philosophy of the immersion concept that the teachers and other staff members demonstrated. Several students actually continued tutoring beyond the required time period. One student did not enjoy the experience. Another did not participate, much to the detriment to his course grade because he did not present an alternative project at the end of the semester.

Adams staff related a deep thanks for having the UST students in their classrooms, even for a brief time period. They also commented that they were not sure at first how to utilize the students since they were not accustomed to having a lot of human help during the school day. They all wanted a repeat of the experience and are going to participate in one this spring. One thing they notes was that some of the UST needed practice with the language in order to be more effective with the Adams students. There is no doubt that our Spanish curriculum lacks enough opportunities for students to practice the language. This project in part was designed to help rectify that need. Students felt the project forced them to use the language in relevant ways and to resolve further to use the language more, and to request its use more when in other Spanish courses.

The information garnered in the interviews and through in-class discussions have led me to change a few parts of the project for this spring. The curriculum followed in the Adams Immersion setting is the same as that being applied in all other elementary schools in Saint Paul, but it is being done in Spanish. Students and teachers alike commented that the curriculum leaves little time for the inclusion of Hispanic culture. In response to this fact, students who participate in this project in the spring semester will develop a cultural lesson in collaboration with their host teacher. The student will present the lesson to the Adams students and leave it with the teacher as a gift to be used with other students in later years.

Since students felt that they really did not get well acquainted with the students and the teacher at Adams due to the brief time frame, they now will spend one hour more per week in the classroom. As one plans for this type of learning experience, it becomes evident that the project will make demands on the schedules of already busy college students. What the proper level of demand cannot be readily identified. It may be beneficial to discuss this issue in conferences and other open venues. The final evaluation of the project is that it was a fine success. Certain aspects had to be changed to accommodate realities not previously foreseen.

A final observation: The possible ways to implement Service- Learning are endless. But, resources in the academic community are not. This does not mean that we have exhausted our resources by any means. We have only begun to explore connections and best-use policies.

Appendix 1

PREGUNTAS

GOALS / METAS (1)

1. ¿Qué es la misión de esta escuela?
2. ¿Cómo se sabe si las metas del plan de asignaturas se han alcanzado?

CURRICULUM AND EVALUATION

• PLAN DE ASIGNATURA / EVALUACIóN (4)

1. ¿Qué nivel de dominio del español deben demostrar los estudiantes al graduarse/salir de Adams? ¿Cómo se mide este nivel de dominio?
2. ¿Qué aspecto del programa ha tenido más éxito?
3. ¿Qué cambios al programa de asignaturas implementaría usted para su mejora?
4. ¿Qué ocurre si los resultados de los MAT 7 u otros exámenes declinan?
5. ¿Cómo es un día típico al nivel en que usted enseña?

• STUDENTS / ESTUDIANTES (2)

1. ¿Cómo se va acomodar al nœmero creciente de estudiantes cuya primera lengua es el español?
2. ¿Qué se va a hacer para acomodar al número creciente de estudiantes cuya primera lengua es el español?
3. ¿Cómo incorporan ustedes a los estudiantes que transfieren Adams desde otras escuelas, estados, etc.?
4. ¿Se ha notado una influencia del programa de estudios de Adams en las opiniones y las actitudes de los estudiantes sobre el racismo y la vida en una sociedad plural.?

• ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNITY / DIRECCION Y COMUNIDAD (4)

1. ¿Anticipa usted que Adams tenga un papel más amplio en la comunidad latino?
2. ¿Está en desarrollo un plan para iniciar un programa de inmersión dual dado el aumento en la población hispana en el distrito?
3. ¿Cómo planean retener a los maestros a largo plazo?
4. ¿Qué es la ratio entre estudiantes y maestros?
5. ¿Quiénes participan en las actividades del PTO?
6. Entre los padres anglos y los hispanos, ¿quiénes participan más en el PTO? ¿Por qué?
7. Si los padres hispanos participan menos en el PTO que los padres anglos, 8. ¿Hay otras actividades en que participan? ¿Puede usted ofrecer una razón para este fenómeno?
8. Si existe una división entre los padres con relación a su participación en el PTO y otras actividades, ¿Qué problemas han resultado?
9. Típicamente, ¿Quiénes sirven de voluntarios para ayudar a los estudiantes y los maestros durante la horas de clase?

Works Cited

Fortune, T. "Intro to Immersion", presentation given at the Adams School, September 13, 2001.

Staff Writer. "St. Thomas Students Practice 'Service Learning' at Adams" Palabras,: publication of the PTO for Adams Spanish Immersion Magnet School, January, 2002.

Note: This article originally appeared in the "Minnesota Language Review," Vol. 30 no. 3. Published in Spring 2002 by the Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Languages and Cultures.