Our Approach

Dual Immersion

Students are taught in a dual language (Spanish/English) setting, following a 90/10 dual language acquisition model.

STEAM

El Sol Academy’s goal is for the students to enter high school with well-developed skills in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and a refined artistic ability.

Rigorous Curriculum

El Sol Academy’s educational focus offers a curriculum that is intellectually rich and focused on problem solving.

Community

El Sol believes that a student’s well being is foundational to their ability to succeed. So, we have partnered with several organizations to provide necessary resources.

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Dual Immersion

What is a Dual Language Immersion Program?

A dual language immersion program uses two languages for literacy and content instruction for all students. Specifically, the 90/10 model allows students to develop a solid foundation in their primary language before advancing in the secondary language.
The program provides the same academic content and addresses the same standards as other educational programs.
All students will learn to read, write, and communicate effectively in Spanish and English while achieving high levels of academic success.
Students will have the bilingual skills and cross-cultural competencies needed to succeed in our multicultural society and global economy.

Why Choose the Dual Language Immersion Approach?

We know it takes five to seven years to fully develop language fluency.
Research also demonstrates that children who maintain and develop academic language skills (not only social language) in their first language, and continue to develop these skills over time as they acquire a second language, have more academic success by middle and high school than those students who did not maintain their first language.
Traditional bilingual programs, where students do not maintain their academic Spanish, are associated with lower levels of English attainment.
Conversely, in dual immersion programs, students attain higher levels of both English and Spanish fluency while also performing competitively in other academic subjects.

STEAM

Science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education:

Provides readiness for high school’s college preparatory courses
Integrates diverse backgrounds and learning experiences
Raises ambition for secondary education
Develops creativity, leadership skills and ethical problem solving
Inspires a STEAM career path

Over the years, we have asked El Sol students about their future dreams. We were not surprised to hear that they want to become scientists, engineers, astronauts, physicists… and more. By providing STEAM education, we give students a chance to convert their dreams to reality! To complement and enhance our existing STEAM program, El Sol is in the process of developing a STEAM lab staffed with high tech experts, volunteer mentors from OC’s high tech industry and its arts communities, and faculty from nearby universities.