TWIN-CS
About
As the United States continues to grow more diverse culturally and linguistically, there is heightened awareness of the needs of our various communities. This is particularly true within Catholic schools, which have experienced a great deal of growth linguistically and ethnically in recent years. Many of these students require support financially as well, despite limited resources in the schools themselves.
The Two-Way Immersion Network for Catholic Schools (TWIN-CS) is unique in its approach to dual language instruction. Building upon the long-successful tradition of language instruction in Catholic schools, the TWIN-CS (or ‘the Network’) is a national initiative to share research, ideas, techniques, and resources to enable some of the most socially and economically challenged students to become bilingual and biliterate. This deliberate, intentional, and dynamic incorporation of twelve Catholic elementary schools from across the United States was forged into practice during the 2013 Summer Academy held in Massachusetts.
While two-way immersion and dual language instruction has been utilized in a number of educational settings for many years, the Network provides an innovative manner of supporting teachers and schools to enhance student achievement. Participation in the Network requires a great deal of input from the schools, while providing extensive support from university researchers and TWIN experts. It is this creative structure of the Network that helps the schools achieve success.
History
TWIN-CS began in January 2013 with a cohort of 12 schools across 11 states; 10 were building Spanish-English programs, one Mandarin-English, and one both Spanish-English and Mandarin-English. Today, membership includes 19 member schools.
Arizona
St. Matthew School, Phoenix
California
All Souls School, Alhambra
Mater Dei Juan Diego Academy, Chula Vista
St. Philomene Catholic School, Sacramento
Florida
St. Agnes Academy, Key Biscayne
St. John Vianney School, Orlando
St. Kevin Catholic School, Miami
Iowa
St. Anthony School, Des Moines
Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools: Dual Language Academy, Sioux City
Maryland
Archbishop Borders School, Baltimore
Minnesota
Risen Christ Catholic School, Minneapolis
Nebraska
Dual Language Academy, Omaha
Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic School, Omaha
New Mexico
St. Mary's School, Albuquerque
New York
St. Michael Catholic Academy, Flushing
South Dakota
Red Cloud Indian School, Pine Ridge
Texas
All Saints Catholic School, Forth Worth
St. Mary Magdalen School, San Antonio
Santa Clara of Assisi Catholic Academy, Dallas
Washington
Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School, Seattle
Wisconsin
Notre Dame School, Milwaukee