The West Metro Foreign Language Forum took place on Saturday, April 26, at Douglas County High School with over 400 student participants from various districts coming together to test their proficiency in spoken language. Douglas County School System was represented by 365 foreign language learners from nine different elementary, middle and high schools.
Beulah Elementary School was the only elementary school represented at the forum. Students who take part in Beulah’s Spanish Enrichment Program were notable competitors as they held their own among middle and high schoolers.
Tracy Moore, Beulah’s Spanish Enrichment/ESOL teacher, said, “Our Beulah BEES did very well and we are so proud of their courage to compete in this way.” These 4th and 5th graders were deemed Superior (yellow ribbon) and Excellent (blue ribbon) by the judges.
Attendees, including teachers, students and parents, had the opportunity to observe the impressive commitment and excellence in language use that was demonstrated by competitors in all levels of school. As a course of rigor, for the HOPE Scholarship, college entrance, standardized test scores, job opportunities, personal experience and lifelong learning, the event
showcased outstanding achievement and dedication of both these students and their teachers.
Event coordinator Corinne Barnes, Instructional Lead and French Teacher at Douglas County High School, was pleased with the performance of the DCSS students and believes it is a strong indicator of their overall academic achievement.
“We are so proud of our student foreign language success as evidenced by students' performance at West Metro Forum,” she said. Acknowledging her fellow teachers across the district for their contributions, she added, “ Thank you all so much for your efforts and support of our students.”
Barnes said she started the West Metro event when she came to work at DCSS in 1997.
“I had been one of the coordinators for the Metro Foreign Language Forum which did not include Douglas, so I wanted to give the western part of the city a similar opportunity,” she stated. “It has always been positive for teachers and students.”
