<div dir="ltr"><h1><span class="">Prince George’s French Immersion School named a Maryland Blue Ribbon School</span></h1>
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<span class="">Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post - </span>
Third grade teacher Iolna Horchler teaches a class at Robert
Goddard French Immersion School in Prince George's. The school was
recognized last week by the Maryland State Education Department with the
state’s Blue Ribbon award for exemplary performance.</p>
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By <span class=""> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ovetta-wiggins/2011/03/08/ABKF0BP_page.html" rel="author">Ovetta Wiggins</a></span>,
<span class="">Published: December 13</span>
<a href="mailto:ovetta.wiggins@washpost.com?subject=Reader%20feedback%20for%20%27Prince%20George%E2%80%99s%20French%20Immersion%20School%20named%20a%20Maryland%20Blue%20Ribbon%20School%27" id="bed1dfde6f-aec1-47c7-9b57-1ff18b1c10f4" class="">E-mail the writer</a>
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<p><span class=""></span> Florence Fomuso, a kindergarten teacher at <a href="http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-10-05/local/35277604_1_russian-students-foreign-languages-high-school-students">Robert Goddard French Immersion School</a>
in Lanham, ran around the desks and chairs in Room 117 before she asked
her students, “Comment Papa Tortue court? Lentement ou rapide?”</p>
<p>Sydney Patterson, 5, quickly raised her hand. She knew how Papa Turtle runs. She shouted “Lentement!” Translation: “Slowly.” </p>
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<p>Then Sydney was told (in French) to demonstrate how the turtle would run. She leisurely made her way around the desks.</p><p>In
kindergarten classes at Robert Goddard, children are answering in
French to their French-speaking teachers. Seventh-graders are learning
college-level words in French that will appear on college-entrance
exams in English.</p><p>Many students and staff members believe it is
the school’s unique programming that led to Robert Goddard being
recognized last week by the Maryland State Education Department with the
state’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/two-washington-area-schools-awarded-maryland-2014-blue-ribbon-school-honor/2013/12/11/3d8ec5cc-627d-11e3-aa81-e1dab1360323_story.html">Blue Ribbon award</a> for exemplary performance.</p>
<p>Many
of the 578 students at Robert Goddard receive top honors in numerous
programs, including ones run by the French Education Ministry and the
National Science Bowl. More than 94 percent of the students were
proficient in math and 95 percent were proficient in reading in 2013.</p><p>Principal
Nasser Abi said he was happy to see the school, which has consistently
been a top performer in the county, getting recognition.</p><p>“I was
very excited, because at one point I thought we were forgotten,” said
Abi, who started working at the school 16 years ago as a first-grade
teacher.</p><p>The students were thrilled to hear the news when Abi announced it over the loudspeaker Wednesday.</p><p>“Everybody was jumping up and down,” said Jodi Evans, 10, a fifth-<br align="block">grader from Bowie. “Our teachers push us so hard so we can have a good education. <span>. . .</span> I knew our school would be in the top.”</p>
<p>Robert
Goddard and the five other schools that received the Maryland
distinction are now eligible to compete for the National Blue Ribbon
award, given by the federal Education Department.</p><p>“I am extremely
proud of the students and staff at Robert Goddard French Immersion for
their achievement and the hard work they have done to earn it,” <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/kevin-maxwell-pr-georges-new-schools-chief-sees-magic-moment-for-county-system/2013/07/27/ebf243f0-ef3c-11e2-a1f9-ea873b7e0424_story.html">Kevin M. Maxwell</a>,
chief executive of Prince George’s County Public Schools, said in a
statement. “The Blue Ribbon Award is one of the highest honors a school
can receive, and it indicates that everything is in place to ensure
student achievement: outstanding leadership, effective instruction,
ongoing professional development and strong partnerships with parents
and the community.”</p><p>
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/real-estate/neighborhoods/Cashell-Elementary-School-school-profile,2811733.html">Montgomery County’s Cashell Elementary School</a>, in Rockville, was the only other Washington area school to receive the Maryland distinction.</p>
<p>“It’s
rare that I’m left speechless,” Maureen Ahern-Stamoulis, Cashell’s
principal, said. “To be one of six schools chosen is an honor.”</p><p>The
other winners were Frost Elementary in Allegany County, Linthicum
Elementary in Anne Arundel County, Western School of Technology and
Environmental Science in Baltimore County and Northern Garrett High in
Garrett County.</p><p>Robert Goddard’s French immersion program began in
1985. The school, which shares a building with a Montessori school with
the same name, is the second-oldest total immersion school in the
country.</p><p>Walk into a kindergarten class, and the only language
spoken by the teacher is French. Fomuso might use real objects or
pantomime, but she does not speak in English, said Martha Kristy, the
school’s instructional program coordinator. </p><p>Students might
whisper in English, but by the middle of their first-grade year,
students are not supposed to speak in English at all during class,
Kristy said.</p><p>from <a href="http://washingtonpost.com">washingtonpost.com</a><br></p><p><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br>
Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br>
<br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------
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