Special to the Daily World
Atlanta International School (AIS) opened the doors of its new Early Learning Center (ELC) recently to its youngest learners: 3K and 4K students in a full-immersion preschool program in French, German and Spanish.
“Studies have repeatedly shown that second-language learning increases critical thinking skills, creativity and mental flexibility in young children,” said Kevin Glass, headmaster of Atlanta International School. Our full immersion program for three- and four-year-olds in Spanish, French and German will produce ‘graduates’ who are better language modelers for non-native speakers in our dual-immersion Primary program. The ELC will, thereby, eventually result in raising all levels of language acquisition, literacy and learning outcomes at Atlanta International School.”
The ELC is located in a new purpose-built facility at 34-38 Peachtree Avenue, just across the street from the school’s main campus in the Garden Hills neighborhood. Named in honor of the school’s founding headmaster, the new Alex Horsley Building is a one-story, residential-scale facility built to EarthCraft specifications. The ELC program is overseen by Dusty Fretwell, Head of Lower Primary School, and administered by Maria Voutos, ELC Coordinator. Voutos, a trilingual, veteran international educator, recently came to Atlanta from St. Andrews International School in Bangkok, Thailand, to take this position.
With the opening of the ELC, AIS now has main entry points to the school at 3K, 4K, 5K, grade 6 and grade 9; admission for other grades may be available dependent upon space. For more information on applying to AIS, visit the website at www.aischool.org or contact the admission team at admission@aischool.org.
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