Spanish Schools for Kids in Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a great place to live in if you want your children to learn Spanish. This city is located ten miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles which might make you believe that this is a suburb, but actually, it’s not. It is a city with lots of amenities and things to enjoy as a family such as museums, great architecture, and cultural resources. Also, their lively business community makes Pasadena an amazing place to sink into any business that you’re into.
Pasadena is an ethnically diverse community where 33.5 percent of the population is Latino which means that a lot of Spanish is spoken there by the 27.3 percent of the population over age five. We cannot emphasize enough that a bilingual education brings lots of cognitive benefits for our kids as well as life opportunities.
We know that finding the perfect school for our children among the many different options that each city has for us can be difficult. Especially if we’re looking for quality Spanish education. But don’t worry! At Trufluency Kids, we value good education, and that’s why we created this guide to the best Spanish schools in Pasadena for you.
About This Resource
Before we start talking about the different options that we have for you, we want to mention what you will find in this guide. This resource was created to talk about schools in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) (see map).
First, we will be showing you public schools. Further down in this guide, you will also find some private school, after-school, and daycare options as we know that not all families and kids have the same budgets, needs, and lifestyles. Our goal is to help as many parents as we can, to find the greatest choice for them, whether it’s a whole education program or just a summer camp.
If you find any outdated information here, please feel free to contact us! At Trufluency Kids, we are aware that education is always evolving and we are willing to update this guide as many times as possible to give you the most updated, and best information for raising children in a bilingual way.
In this guide, we will show you Spanish Dual-Language/Immersion programs, because we consider immersion to be the best way to achieve Spanish fluency.
Remember that to enroll your children in any PUSD school, you need first to locate schools near your residence. In order to choose another school other than the one you are assigned to, complete the Open Enrollment application.
Pasadena USD Dual Language Program
Pasadena Unified School district is an above average, public school district that serves almost 16 thousand students in grades K-12 according to Niche. They hold #58 in the Most Diverse School Districts in California. And several schools from this district have ranked in the top 10 of LA Magazine’s Best Public and Private High Schools.
Schools in PUSD offer a wide variety of educational options. In their Dual Language Immersion Program, they focus on bilingualism, bi-literacy, academic excellence, and multicultural understanding. This program is based on a two-way, 90:10, language immersion model.
A two-way program has classrooms composed of both native English speakers and native speakers of the target language so students can support each other in their development with both languages. On the other hand, the 90:10 model means that the overall curriculum is taught 90% in the target language and 10% in English. Each year, the amount of English is increased by 10% so by fourth grade, students are taught 50% in each language.
PUSD’s Dual Language Immersion Preschool Program in Spanish is available on 4 campuses with caring, high-quality teachers that will speak your child 100% in Spanish and Educational Assistants who are available to assist the students in English.
Pasadena USD Dual Language Schools
Even though only four schools are offering a Dual Language Immersion Spanish Program in this district, PUSD offers a continuing bilingual education from preschool or transitional kindergarten to High School so your children can have a full development and education in Spanish.
Below are two PUSD schools that we consider to be the best choice for Spanish immersion programs.
San Rafael Elementary School
San Rafael Elementary is ranked #860 in Best Public Elementary School in Pasadena area and has an overall B+ Niche grade. Their Dual Immersion Program follows the 90/10 design.
Their main goal is to develop bi-cognitive students who meet high academic standards and are models for positive cross-cultural attitudes and behavior. San Rafael creates lifelong learners who possess an expanded worldview and are prepared to be successful in a global society.
Also, they want to provide a child-centered academic program that meets the diverse needs of the community in an additive bilingual setting.
They have 407 students in grades K-5 and according to state test scores, 51% of students are at least proficient in math and 61% in reading.
Jackson Magnet STEM Dual Language Academy
Jackson STEM Dual Language Magnet Academy offers innovative academic programs that nurture communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creative skills needed to be successful in the 21st century.
By combining native English and native Spanish Speakers, their Language Immersion Program (DLIP) students are allowed to excel in the development of both languages. Their DLIP program follows the California Association of Bilingual Education Two-way 90:10 model.
Dual Language provides an opportunity for students to be fully involved and immersed in Spanish, and to learn in a very natural way as kindergarten is the best cognitive phase to expose children to other languages. DLIP in Jackson helps students to strengthen cognitive skills, and problem-solving skills and enhance creativity.
Jackson Magnet will support the whole child by empowering students to reach their full potential and strive for academic excellence. Also, they look for inspiring their students to work as a team in developing creative solutions to real-life problems.
Private Schools, Preschool, and After-School Programs for Spanish Learning
Kallpachay Spanish Immersion
Kallpachay wants to connect students and immerse them in all aspects of Spanish culture. Their approach helps students learn the language through arts and games but never forget to focus on the speaking practice. Their goal is to help children to get a great advantage as Spanish language learners by playing and exploring, and they also celebrate multiculturality.
This school offers courses for kids, adults, and caregivers. Also, they have a Spanish immersion camp that is described as being entirely kinesthetic and conversational.
Kallpachay has a 4.5 star rating on Yelp! and 5 stars on Facebook. They also have lots of good reviews on the website.
Pasadena Language Center
This school is dedicated to providing high-quality language classes for adults and children in Pasadena. They teach over 30 languages and their different programs make this school a great fit for pretty much any kind of education you’re looking for. They have weekly classes, intensive classes, full immersion classes, and family classes among others.
Pasadena Language Center has teachers specially selected because of their teaching experience and their passion for sharing their culture and their dedication to students. Their teaching method focuses on conversation and learning important grammar structures.
This school has an overall rating of 5 stars on Facebook and a rating of 3.5 on Yelp.
Yatichawi Preschool
Yatichawi is a preschool that not only has a curious name but is an immersive school where students practice the Spanish language throughout the day. They implement many different activities to keep students engaged; they believe in “Learning by doing”.
This school offers a very cozy, warm, and beautiful environment for your children to learn in. Their areas are all full of proper activities for the cognitive social, and emotional growth of each child.
They have a 5 star rating on Facebook. Even though they don’t have many reviews, the ones they do have look like this one:
“Couldn’t be any happier with having my little one enrolled here. Connie and her team provide a clean, safe, and happy place for him to learn and play. There are lots of fun activities for the kids, both in and outdoors. He often is not ready to leave when I pick him up.
Meals are homemade, fresh, and ORGANIC. It is fully immersive Spanish which is a bonus. The curriculum is well rounded with the fundamentals (letters, numbers, animals…etc) but they also had kids plant seeds in the garden, capture caterpillars and release them as butterflies. My kid can’t stop talking about caterpillars now.
They use an app called Brightwheel to send videos and photos of what he is doing, what he is learning, what he is eating, and even when he potties. It is hard enough being away from him, so the daily updates help ease the pain. My son was enrolled at Bright Horizon which also had an app to update parents on their children’s activities, but the monthly enrollment cost was double! Why pay that price when you can get the same value with the added family feel.”
TruFluency Kids Spanish Immersion Program
Last but not least, we couldn’t finish this guide without mentioning our very own Spanish Immersion classes. If you want your child to learn in an immersive, fun, and interactive environment you can rely on us!
The best part is that you don’t need to leave your home or pay a lot of money. Our online programs strive for fluency. Our teachers are specially trained in our own Bellieu Method which aims for fun, entertaining and engaging classes that will keep your child focused while learning.
All of our classes are offered online with flexible schedules and life lessons. We also give you access to extra Spanish resources with no added cost so you can also practice with your child outside class time. Our main goal is that your child learns how to communicate and understand Spanish in an almost native way.
We hope to see you join us on this journey soon!