Spanish immersion preschool set to open in Philly

Registration is open for Philadelphia’s first Spanish immersion preschool.

“There are so many families from a variety of backgrounds that are interested in having their families learn more than one language,” said founder Melissa Page, who had already been holding Spanish language storytime sessions around the city when she got the idea to create a permanent space.

Before embarking on the effort to start Mi Casita, or “my little house,” Page taught high school Spanish in the Philadelphia school system.

“I saw a lot of the frustration of learning a second language when you enter into high school,” she said. “In order to remedy this problem, I thought it would make sense to open up an early education immersion program.”

Research shows young children learn languages more easily, and Page plans to have a staff of native speakers who will speak exclusively Spanish to the children while they speak English with their family at  home.

She plans to open in January in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia.