Channelview kids learn to go bilingual as early as pre-K

CHANNELVIEW, Texas (KTRK) -- When you take a closer look into the classroom at the Early Childhood Center in Channelview, you'll notice that the students are getting a jump start with multiple languages.

"The reason we do have the dual language program here is we do have a high population of Hispanic students in the community and families," teacher Anitra Orta explained.

The students are learning in both Spanish and English. One of the biggest benefits is they're able to take what they learn in the classroom and adapt those lessons at home.

"A lot of the parents are native Spanish speakers, but you'll see their children going home and actually teaching them so that parents and children are learning from each other," Orta added.

The structure is quite simple and the lessons are color-coded.

"When you see the red and blue around the classroom, the red is because it's in Spanish and the blue is because it's in English. We teach the content areas of language arts and social studies in Spanish and we teach math and science in English," Orta said.

The program is still relatively new, but the faculty and families are seeing results.

"Here is where it all starts. This is the foundation for them. It's their first year in school. So you want to provide a caring and loving environment. You want them to feel safe and that's going to increase their success overall," Orta said.

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