Arabic immersion school planned for Brookfield
Hasnaa Khudeira and her husband moved their two children from Iowa to Wisconsin five years ago.
The couple was looking for a more diverse education for their children, and they found one in an after-school Arabic language program at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee in Brookfield.
“The second (my son) walked in, it was like a new part of him,” she said.
The mother wanted her kids to speak the language she grew up speaking at home.
She tried to teach her son on her own, but when he stepped into a classroom with other kids his age, he started to learn at a faster pace.
Khudiera’s son wasn’t the only student to embrace Arabic. Islamic Society’s after-school program has grown from about 20 children three years ago to nearly 70 last year.
Now, the program’s leaders are thinking bigger.
By fall 2020, two leaders in Brookfield hope to open a school where students would spend kindergarten through sixth grade taking all classes in Arabic. The Brookfield-based immersion school hopes to enroll up to 150 students.
The plan points to a growing demand for Arabic instruction in the U.S. According to the most recent survey by the Modern Language Association, Arabic is the fastest-growing foreign language studied in the U.S. — making it the eighth most popular language to learn in the nation. Schools saw a particular spike in enrollment after 9/11, the survey found.
In Wisconsin, a little more than
6,000 people spoke Arabic at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau . Emad Abutabanjeh, one of the founders of the school, said the school hopes children grow up speaking more than one language.
“Most kids grow up with one language,” he said. “We need to arm our kids regardless of their background with not only one language, but at least more than one.”
The Brookfield Arabic immersion school would be just the second in the U.S. The other is the Arabic Immersion Magnet School in Houston.
The school will adhere to U.S. Department of Education common core curriculum. Founders are working to apply to become an independent charter school through the University of WisconsinMilwaukee.
Language immersion in Milwaukee isn’t a new concept. Full immersion schools are already here in French, German and Spanish and partial immersion in Italian.
According to the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, students in immersion programs learn the language with higher proficiency than students in other language programs.
Immersion students who only know English can develop native levels of understanding in listening and reading, the center reported.
Language immersion can also benefit students in other areas of their education, said Sandra Liliana Pucci, professor and chair of linguistics at UW-Milwaukee.
“Students not only learn the language, but have good levels of academic achievement,” Pucci said.
Pucci said immersion schools are most effective if students enroll at a younger age.
“Why Arabic? The question is: Why not?” said Hamid Ouali, a coordinator of the Arabic program at UW-Milwaukee.
Arabic is an official language of the United Nations and is tied to history, religion and has growing political and economic relevance, Ouali said.
Learning Arabic opens new career opportunities, said Katrina Daly Thompson, director of the program in African Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Students who’ve graduated from UW-Madison’s African Language program have secured jobs in nonprofit and government work, said Thompson. The language is classified as a “critical need language” by the U.S. government, which means it has importance for U.S. national security.
Khudiera said she’s sure enrolling her children in the Arabic Immersion School will benefit them, no matter what career they decide.
While the Arabic Immersion School grew out of an after-school program at ISM, the founders are adamant the school isn’t just for children who are Muslim.
“One thing we want to do is give all America kids, regardless of race, ethnic group or faith, to give them the opportunity to learn other languages,” Abutaganjeh said.
Initial funding for the school will come from Insight Life Learning Institute, a nonprofit focused on diverse education. Abutaganjeh and Mohammad Heder, the school’s founders, created the nonprofit.
The founders are using personal funds to purchase the school’s building, which is the former Brookside School, at 13799 Hope St.
Khudiera said she’s looking forward to taking her children to the new school. For her, it’s more than a way to teach Arabic — it’s a way to create a social learning environment.
“One way to create an identity is through language,” she said.