Originally posted August 26, 2016
Eight of our bilingual school kiddos began classes last week. We have some spectacular kids in our bilingual program, and we’re thrilled to watch them grow and better themselves over this next year.
This past school year we decided to change bilingual schools entirely. We now have three kids in High Valley School and five in Integrity Academy. Meanwhile, Rosie attends bilingual school at Penzotti, which is a great fit for her. She began there in February on the Honduran schedule and will finish up in November. All our other BC kiddos in bilingual school are on the North American schedule from August to June.
We knew about High Valley because that’s where we enrolled Dayana when Interamerican wasn’t working for her, and we enrolled her brothers Arol and Jonathan in Integrity for similar reasons. The two schools are very different. High Valley suits our kids who need a specialized pace, sometimes slower to fit whatever learning challenges or strengths they each have. Integrity is suited for our kids who need a faster pace, either to stay out of trouble or to best suit their skill set. Both schools are small with class sizes of most often less than 10.
We have learned over the years we can’t treat each child the same. Each has their own capabilities and strengths, and it’s our job to give them their best chance. We believe we have given Dayana, Escarlen and Michel (featured here from left to right) their best chance at High Valley School. And we believe we have given Allison, Jennifer, Francois, Jonathan and Arol (featured from left to right below) their best shot at Integrity Academy.
We love that we have sponsors who are supportive of these changes and continue to encourage our kids to succeed to be the best versions of themselves. The beautiful reality is God created us all differently – our personalities, our looks and even our skill sets. We can’t expect every child to handle a subject or task the same. And our kids have the added difficulty of their own background and often trauma, unique to each of them. We’re blessed to have two schools that honor and understand each child is different and needs specialized attention to succeed.
Please keep our little ones, their teachers, their parents, their school administrators and all of our team in your prayers as we begin this school year. May we teach them to use their blessings to glorify their Creator and to love others as others have loved them.
