Have you noticed that we’ve been using a new tagline? Bilingual Education: A Rainbow of Possibilities, Una Educación Bilingüe es un Arcoíris de Oportunidades certainly reflects our colorful school image, but it also represents our mission and the array of outcomes of our tuition-free K-5 Spanish immersion program. How does a bilingual education create a rainbow of possibilities? Let’s take a look:
🌈A bilingual education produces strong thinkers, communicators and problem-solvers.
Working in multiple languages stimulates our executive functioning skills, leading to improved attention and decision-making, an increased ability to solve problems, and creative thinking. Better focus and creativity are linked to strong academic results, paving a path for higher academic achievement.
🌈A deep understanding of language and culture develops empathy.
Learning a new language unlocks a whole new way of seeing the world. Gaining new perspectives through language deepens understanding of culture in both visible (foods, flags and festivals) and invisible (values, beliefs and humor) ways. Arco Iris’s true multicultural setting helps expand children’s worldview, increasing emotional intelligence and capacity for empathy, ultimately growing students who endeavor to learn about the world and their place in it.
🌈Speaking more than one language boosts learning and earning potential.
Starting early on a bilingual journey sets students on a path for greater academic, college and career opportunities. Many Arco Iris alumni, like Aubrey Schiefelbein, go on to top area high schools and enroll in rigorous AP Spanish courses which have college credit-earning potential and build a solid college resume. Aubrey is now a double major in International Business and Spanish and looking forward to traveling and living in Spain through her college study abroad program.
Other alumni use the language skills they acquired at Arco Iris to study in a wide variety of fields. Take for example, alumni Olivia Welsh, whose language skills have opened a number of doors, from double majoring in International Relations and Spanish at Linfield University to a work study position in the Spanish Department and a January Term abroad in Spain. Bilingual job applicants are highly sought after across a wide variety of fields, opening up options for graduates of a language immersion program to find high paying and meaningful careers.
Alumni Everett Clough just completed his Sophomore year at the Oregon State University Honors College studying Kinesiology on the Pre-Athletic Training track, with a minor in Psychology. He’s working at the Hallie Ford Center on campus as an administrator and as a research assistant, where his fluency in Spanish has come in extremely useful and also given him a pay raise. Everett is hoping to intern with the athletic programs at Oregon State this upcoming fall.
🌈The world is your oyster when you speak multiple languages.
Bilingual education promotes cross-cultural understanding and prepares students to navigate our interconnected world. It can also make travel experiences richer, allowing you to be fully immersed in the culture. Everett Clough said it best:
Being bilingual opens up a ton of doors that you don’t even initially realize existed…it has made life, travel, work and relationship building a lot easier because of my ability to speak Spanish.
If you would like to open doors for your child’s future, there is nothing better than a tuition-free bilingual education. There is still time to enroll at Arco Iris for the 2025-26 school year. Give us a call at (503) 372-6052 or visit our enrollment page to get started.
About Arco Iris
Arco Iris Spanish Immersion is a small tuition-free public charter school providing a rich, immersive Spanish language experience and robust academics in a true multicultural setting. Centrally located off 217, between SW Portland and Tigard, we serve K-5 students in the greater Beaverton area to become bilingual and biliterate leaders of the future. Get to know us on Instagram @arcoiris_spanishimmersion and on the web at www.arcoirisschool.org. We’re enrolling for Fall 2025-26. Bilingual Education: A Rainbow of Possibilities