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Los Estudiantes de CLA Sobresalen en los Examenes Nacionales de Español de el 2011 |
CLA Students Excel in 2011 National Spanish Examinations Students from Creative Learning Academy excelled in the 2011 National Spanish Examinations, earning nine gold, eleven silver, and three bronze medals to go with seven honorable mentions. Administered online and sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portugeuse, the National Spanish Exams are the largest of their kind in the U.S. with 140,373 students, grades 6-12, participating in 2011. “Attaining a medal or honorable mention on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious for any student,” said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, the program’s National Director. For CLA, it is a credit to the tireless dedication exhibited by Spanish teachers Paulette Drasutis, who teaches the preprimary through fourth grade classes, and Maureen Leccese, who teaches the middle school classes. “My background is Mexican and CLA is my favorite place to share both my culture and the language,” Drasutis said. “I love the freedom here at CLA. If I’m teaching a lesson and a child wants to go in a new direction, I’m free to leave the curriculum and pursue it. I’ll always go back to the curriculum, but I’m free to do whatever I want and the school supports me one hundred percent.“ Drasutis has been teaching at CLA for 32 years. “I’m first generation American; my father was born in Spain and my mother was born in Italy,” said Leccese, who has been teaching at CLA for five years. “Teaching Spanish was a way for me to break down communication barriers, and now with the world becoming smaller and smaller I love being able to educate my students globally. I’m able to bring the European culture and Paulette brings the culture from Latin America.” Leccese describes an overall learning experience that incorporates speaking, writing and movement. The children dance, play games, go on field trips, and have activities centered around the festivals and ceremonies of the Spanish culture—what both of the CLA Spanish teachers describe as a total learning experience. |