Learning a second language is easiest when you begin young, so elementary students in Arundel are getting an exceptional opportunity from a Spanish language program provided by Regional School Unit 21.

As Principal Tom Parker said, these young pupils are just learning to count, tell time and other basics. “It’s the perfect time to learn a language.”

Children in kindergarten and first and second grade receive conversational instruction two days a week from Spanish teacher Genevieve O’Connell. Classroom teachers are reinforcing the lessons with posters emphasizing Spanish, Mexican and Latin American themes. It’s likely these teachers are becoming somewhat fluent, too ”“ learning along with their students.

Such teamwork is an effective educational approach. It’s an example of how educators can be inventive and collaborative on behalf of students ”“ engaging their interest and encouraging them to develop knowledge and skills that may stay with them for a lifetime. And becoming conversant in Spanish is a good idea for anyone; it is widely spoken in the U.S. and it is the second most widely spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese.

This opportunity exists in Arundel because Maine’s policy of school district consolidation brought the schools of Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport together as RSU 21. The new arrangement has expanded an elementary Spanish program that was previously available only at Kennebunk Elementary School and Kennnebunkport’s Consolidated School.

Many have criticized school district consolidation as heavy-handed, and Maine’s school district consolidation law was challenged at the polls this year. Fortunately, that effort was unsuccessful, and this new opportunity in Arundel shows how students can benefit from a regional approach. We don’t know what, if any, trade-offs were needed to extend the RSU 21 program to Arundel, but teaching Spanish to young students is an initiative worth expanding.

Administrators and teachers in newly consolidated districts are still exploring the new opportunities before them. Creating larger school districts provides a base that can support more educational programs while preserving local schools. By extending the elementary Spanish program to Arundel’s Mildred L. Day School, administrators have extended children’s horizons and broadened the program’s support.

— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com or City Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski at kristenm@journaltribune.com.