Dual Language Collaboration Lauded in Colombia and U.S.

An innovative, ongoing, cultural exchange program at Avery’s Creek Elementary broadens cultural understanding.

Featured Photo: Ms. Giovana Hurtado stands with third grade students at Avery's Creek Elementary during International Education Week in November, 2020. Photo provided courtesy of Avery's Creek Elementary.

By: Benjamin Rickert
BCS Communications Dept.

An innovative, ongoing cultural exchange program at Avery’s Creek Elementary has broadened understanding and earned media coverage locally and abroad. In the school’s Dual Language Spanish Immersion classrooms, students in kindergarten through fourth grade practice speaking Spanish with Colombian students throughout the year, sharing life experiences, books, and special projects.

“Collaboration with students in Colombia has not only provided the opportunity for students to enhance their letter writing skills but their communication skills, as well,” said Avery’s Creek Principal Denise Montgomery. “This cultural collaboration has also provided a chance for our students to learn about the students in Colombia; their traditions, customs, and activities. Watching them meet each other for the first time is heartwarming, because we hope this provides a springboard for them to make a friend for life.“

The Colombian collaboration has been featured in WLOS news’ Never Stop Learning broadcasts, and third grade teacher Ms. Giovana Hurtado’s work with Avery’s Creek and the statewide GoOpenNC project was recently featured in Colombian publications from the Universidad del Cauca and the Diario del Cauca newspaper. During International Education Week in mid-November, Hurtado’s students prepared a presentation for Colombian students about the about the U.S. and Avery’s Creek Elementary. They also narrated a story and practiced new vocabulary.

"We're immensely proud of Ms. Hurtado and Avery's Creek for being recognized for this work to learn from and bridge our cultures," said BCS Global Education Specialist Dr. Cheri Boone. "These collaborative projects demonstrate how real-life global education opportunities extend beyond the classroom walls."

Hurtado explained that cultural and language programs give students the opportunity to expand interest in global issues, gain cultural understanding, practice speaking and writing in a second language, and more.

“If you are a teacher, just half a day with your students empowers their dreams and helps to make them independent, good citizens,” said Hurtado, according to the Universidad del Cauca.

In addition to Hurtado, the Dual Language staff at Avery's Creek includes Bryan Jimenez, Jessica Wicklund-Galetovic, Savannah Smith, and Steffany Perez Moreno.

In classrooms across Buncombe County, Dual Language Spanish Immersion programs provide a bilingual education, building Spanish literacy and fluency. All six BCS districts currently have at least one elementary school with a Dual Language program, including Avery’s Creek Elementary, Candler Elementary, Glen Arden Elementary, North Buncombe Elementary, Oakley Elementary, W.D. Williams Elementary, and West Buncombe Elementary. Charles T. Koontz Intermediate in the Roberson District also hosts a Dual Language program. Learn more about Dual Language Spanish Immersion programs in Buncombe County Schools.

The following article was translated by the BCS Language Services team from the December 16, 2020, story posted by the Universidad del Cauca in Popayán, Colombia. The original article is available in Spanish on the university website.

Empowering Her Dreams
By: Marzela Jacho Bastidas, Universidad del Cauca

Giovana Hurtado, Avery's Creek Elementary

Giovana Andrea Hurtado Devia is a 2009 graduate with degrees in French and English from the Modern Languages Program of the University of Cauca. She is currently part of the GoOpenNC project.

She is a nurse who has received honorable mention and is a 2002 graduate of Jacinto Mosquera Figueroa Foundation. However, in a drastic change and remembering the many foreign languages that she heard as a child with her family, she decided to begin her studies for a bachelor’s degree in English and French and she also studied German and Italian.

“If you are a teacher, just half a day with your students empowers their dreams and helps to make them independent, good citizens,” Hurtado said.

She is currently part of a research group of North Carolina teachers known as GoOpenNC, where she helps to create resources dedicated to the improvement of curriculum, work in the classroom, and debates about education, inclusion and culture.

Thanks to tools and solid foundations gained from University of Cauca teachers and her experiences during her studies, Hurtado was indirectly creating a longing to leave the country to evaluate and experiment with the cultures so often mentioned in her program with the intention of gaining further understanding, education, and planning for her future life goals.

“On the eve of defending my thesis in 2009, I was in a traffic accident that left me in a coma and with an unfavorable prognosis but by providence I woke up a week before the graduation ceremony,” recalled Hurtado, who definitely did not have an easy path toward teaching.

However, she overcame the obstacles in front of her with great success and in a way that helped her achieve so much that she became a distinguished graduate of the University of Cauca.

Right now, she lives in the United States where she is studying for a master’s degree in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages in Greensboro, North Carolina. She wants to be an ambassador of our country, independently of the context in which it now finds itself, and she wants to create cultural bridges with global citizens.

Throughout her career, Hurtado has engaged in diverse academic studies, some of which are Bilingual Tourist Guide for SENA Cauca 2010, a specialization in 2015 in early childhood education and intervention from the University of Juan de Castellanos, EDMODO Latin America certified teacher, English as a Second Language from PLI Trinidad and Tobago, Elementary Common Core from the North Carolina Center for Advancement of Teaching, the Teaching of English for Speakers of Other Languages, a Seesaw ambassador, and a Flipgrid ambassador.

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