Spring Bulletin 2012 - The Park School

While individual teachers certainly bring their
personalities into their classrooms, continuity
across each grade level is key, particularly in
French and Spanish. Kathy Come is pleased to be
part of a school where teachers are literally ‘on the
same page.’ “We are intentionally teaching the
same material at pretty much the same pace,” she
explains. “That’s good for the students because the
following year when they get a new teacher, he or
she knows what the kids have covered. With us, a
student in sixth grade French is prepared for any
seventh grade French class.”
OUTCOMES
very year, young alumni stopping by to visit
Etheir
language teachers remark that they are
thriving in their secondary school language classes.
Park graduates are complimented for their good
accents, good comprehension, and for being ahead
of the game in terms of vocabulary and grammar
acquisition. They test well and are placed in
advanced secondary school language classes. Liga
explains, “Typically, studying a language for four
years at Park is like two years of a high school
course. So our kids can easily go into a third year
course in their secondary schools.”
Park’s language teachers take pride in their
students’ skills in basic vocabulary, verb forms,
and grammar. “Park students accomplish a tremendous
amount meeting four times a week,” Alan
says. “By Grade VIII and IX, modern language
students have developed really wonderful accents
when speaking and reading. And when they
encounter other students in next schools, they
realize just how well prepared they are for higherlevel
study.”
Collectively, Park’s language teachers want
their students to have the sense that the language
skills they have learned at Park are real. Greg
Grote explains, “The Latin program at Park provides
students with the foundation needed to go
onto high school courses based on Latin authors.”
And, Mulian, looking forward to when her students
become eight or ninth graders, hopes they
“will feel comfortable communicating with native
Mandarin speakers in China.” Alan hopes that
Park students will have the confidence “to know
that they speak well, that they sound good, and
that someday soon, they will be asked ‘Wait, you’re
American? But you don’t have an accent! ’”
Kathy Come
Spanish
Kathy, the newest member of the
Modern Language Department,
began teaching Spanish at Park
in September 2011. The Newton
native earned a BA in psychology
at Cornell University and a MA in
Spanish language and translation
from New York University in
Madrid. In Spain, Kathy taught
English to middle school students
at the Colegio Estudio for two
years before teaching Spanish at
Trevor Day School in New York
City. In addition to imbuing a
passion for the Spanish language
and culture to her students and
colleagues, Kathy also serves as a
sixth grade advisor, and chaperoned
the ninth grade trip to
Spain this year.
The Park School Bulletin | Spring 2012 13