For one group of Paul Breaux Middle School eighth-graders, the bilingual advantage received as part of the school district’s Spanish immersion program is one that has prepared them for a future with multiple avenues.

“As an immersion student, you learn in a different way,” explained Alexis Sam, 14. “A teacher I once had told us that everybody’s gifted. We just learn in a different way. As immersion students, we process differently because we’ve learned a second language from a young age.”

Sam and her six other classmates began school together nine years ago as the first kindergartners to participate in the Lafayette Parish school system’s Spanish immersion classes.

The immersive learning experience has meant that since kindergarten, they’ve been taught math, science and social studies content in Spanish while only speaking English during their English language arts class time.

The district has about 175 Spanish immersion students compared with the more than 1,000 in French immersion, though that program has had more than 20 years to grow in an area tied to French-speaking settlers.

A smaller group of students — about 40 — are enrolled in Mandarin Chinese, the district’s latest immersion option, which began about four years ago.

Sam and her six classmates mark the conclusion of their Spanish immersion studies during a graduation ceremony Monday.

For now, the district does not have immersion opportunities in high school because the program is still building capacity, said Nicole Boudreaux, the district’s world language specialist.

Lafayette High School houses the district’s advanced language study courses.

Next school year, the Spanish immersion students have the option to take level-three or level-four Spanish courses at Lafayette High, depending upon their skill level, Boudreaux said.

The students shared their experiences in the program during a session Thursday organized to explain the program. The group responded to questions asked by their Spanish immersion social studies teacher, Michel Vautour, and responded in both English and Spanish.

Kiah Walker, 13, said learning Spanish offers her the opportunities to experience more through travel and careers. For Nilah Rosario, 14, she wants to be a nurse and a voice for patients who don’t speak English. Alexis Sam, 14, plans to pursue international studies and learn French, Italian and Arabic to pursue a career as a translator.

Brian Charles, 14, plans to pursue a career as a veterinarian and move out West, where he thinks he’ll be able to put his Spanish skills to use in his business. He also said that if he had the option to continue his Spanish immersion studies, he would.

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