Welcome

WHO WE ARE:

Oaklawn Language Academy is a full magnet program offering language immersion education in Spanish for grades K – 8.  Oaklawn was selected as the 2012 Dr. Ronald P. Simpson Distinguished Magnet Schools of Excellence Award winner, naming us the top magnet school in the nation by Magnet Schools of America.  Oaklawn has also been designated by Magnet Schools of America as a “School of Distinction” or a “School of Excellence” every year since 2004-2018, 2023.

Language immersion education uses a foreign language as the medium of instruction for the Common Core and Essential Standards.  Research confirms that the benefits of language immersion education go beyond acquiring a foreign language to improving skills in math and science in the higher grades. It has the added benefit of broadening students’ horizons to encompass the whole world as a place of opportunity.

Our goal at Oaklawn is to promote high academic achievement in literacy, and proficiency in both languages, while enhancing the levels of cultural awareness and sensitivity of our students.

Our school’s vision focuses on the promotion of bilingualism, bi-literacy, and multicultural proficiency through global and diverse learning, rigor, relevance and engagement.  The outcome is a student body made up of not only capable scholars, but ones who respect and value others’ points of view, ethnic, national and cultural differences.

Our staff, parents, and community partners are united and committed to providing a high-quality education in a language immersion environment.  Students undertake a rigorous curriculum in two languages, embrace diversity and become responsible leaders, demonstrating integrity in a multicultural world. 

Our certified native Spanish educators come from Spanish-speaking countries from all over the world, including: Chile, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, and Spain.  This genuine diversity leads to effective language acquisition and cultural exposure due to firsthand knowledge of the language and culture by our educators. 

WHAT WE DO

Our language immersion program is designed as a dual language program.  Instruction of all core subjects occurs in Spanish at the kindergarten level, giving our beginner students maximum exposure to the target language by providing 100% immersion.  In later grades, the percentage changes to 50-50 achieving literacy in both languages.

Oaklawn Model for Spanish Immersion

Students earn two high school credits for Spanish classes taken in our middle school at the time of 8th grade promotion.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN OUR PROGRAM?

All kindergarten students can apply to our program through the CMS Magnet lottery.  Students wishing to enroll in 1st-8th grade must pass a grade level Spanish late-entry assessment due to the language requirements for success in those grades.  

General Information:

Full Magnet Program

K-8 School

Violet Transportation Zone

Hours-8:45 am-4:15pm

We are a uniform school.