Students in grades six through eight at Saghalie Middle School are beginning to learn the Korean language this year, thanks in part to a $14,000 grant from the Korean Ministry of Education.

The Korean language program at Saghalie features Rosetta Stone curriculum and will be supported by a Korean language para-educator. District officials hope to eventually expand the program to Decatur High School and Saghalie’s feeder elementary schools: Brigadoon, Green Gables, Olympic View and Silver Lake. The Korean language para-educator will visit those schools throughout this school year to help build interest in the program.

There’s a recognized need to increase the number of world languages taught in schools, but there are a couple of obstacles that need to be overcome. The first is to have enough student demand for a subject to support hiring a full-time teacher. The second is there are a limited number of Washington state certificated teachers available to teach world languages, according to district officials. This program helps overcome both issues.

“We are excited to be part of this innovative approach to offering our students the opportunity to learn an important world language,” interim Superintendent Sally McLean commented.

The new Korean language program at Saghalie is one of several initiatives the district has undertaken in recent years in partnership with the Korean Ministry of Education. At Lakeland Elementary, students in grades three through five spent a year working with a sister school in Korea via Skype and hosting a visit to the school.

And, on Sept. 2, the district welcomed its fourth cohort of Korean University student teachers for a three-month experience working in the classrooms with the district’s finest mentor teachers.