Mi Casita Opens This Week Making it Philly’s First Spanish Immersion Preschool

Mi Casita (1415 Fairmount Ave.) is opening for business this Friday.  Upon opening its doors, this unique preschool will become the area’s first Spanish immersion preschool.  In a city, scratch that, in a country with a ever growing Latino population, the demand for bi-lingual education as increased.  However, enrolling in a Spanish class during high school is not as effective as being immersed in the language as a toddler.

Which is why Mi Casita aims to develop children into multicultural students who are curious, passionate, and confident. With a staff of mostly native Spanish speakers with strong backgrounds in early childhood education, the school will teach through an all Spanish curriculum that encourages learning through play, literacy, and math development.

Founded by Melissa Page, a former high school language teacher with a lifelong passion for Spanish language education, the school will be situated at 1415 Fairmount Ave. The spacious 4600-square-foot location in a brand new building will include a kitchen, library, and a variety of rooms for learning and playing. The location offers close walking proximity to Clemente Park and Playground, Spring Garden Community Gardens, and Francisville Playground as well as very easy access to public transportation.

Mi Casita Preschool will offer a comforting, caring environment and multicultural learning community for children ages 18 months through five years. Enrollment information for rolling admission beginning in 2015 is available at www.micasitaphilly.com.

In case you are wondering about scheduling options, Mi Casita will be offering the following options:

Full Day

9am- 3pm
18 months – 5 years
2-day (Tuesday/Thursday)
3-day (Monday/Wednesday/Friday)
5-day (Monday – Friday)

Half Day

9am – 12pm
18 months – 5 years (Tuesday/Thursday)
3-day (Monday/Wednesday/Friday)
5-day (Monday – Friday)
(Extended hours are available from 7:30am to 6pm.)

Why Spanish Immersion?

Language-immersion preschool programs are becoming more and more popular across the country. And Spanish is the most popular second language learned by native speakers of English.

Multilingualism has been proven to offer immediate cognitive advantages to children and to help their brains work more efficiently. For some families, multilingualism helps keep cultural and ethnic heritage alive; others are drawn to the promise of personal and professional opportunities in the future.

Studies have shown that early language immersion offers benefits including faster reading, better problem solving abilities, better test scores, enhanced cognitive development, native pronunciation, cultural appreciation, and higher levels of self confidence. In fact, new studies on brain development indicate that early exposure to more than one language builds more powerful brains, with better and faster synaptic connections!