International School of Brooklyn will end its long-running French & Spanish Language Immersion Playgroups program in June 2010. The program was initiated in 2004 by ISB Co-founder, Rebecca Skinner and ISB Board President, Teresa Santamaria, with the help and support of many dedicated parents and teachers. During the past six years, over 500 children have participated in Playgroups in six Brooklyn neighborhoods.

As the Playgroups-era of the ISB history books closes, ISB recognizes the many new programs that have been developed in Brooklyn since 2004. ISB launched its Playgroups program at a time when very little programming existed for early language acquisition. Our research at the onset indicated that families in Brooklyn were eager for children?s programming that emphasized language learning in a fun and stimulating environment. It was a perfect opportunity both to meet a demand for services in the community and to help launch the core program--ISB's Nursery-12th Grade IB language immersion school.

Rebecca Skinner, ISB Executive Director and Co-founder, comments, ?I am thrilled to see that over the past six years, both the demand for this type of program has increased as well as the number of programs offering language for young children. We are proud to be part of that development. We exit the field knowing that families will have access to many quality programs in the years before considering ISB?s preschool and elementary school.

Nothing speaks louder about the impact of the Playgroup program than the commitment of its teachers. Two ISB French Enrichment Program teachers, who have been with the program for four years, are joining forces to launch their own program, Brooklyn Beanstalk. Stephanie Larrière and Sophie Amieva have spearheaded the creation of Brooklyn Beanstalk with the goal of exposing children to Spanish and French in a playful, interactive and multicultural environment. Classes will launch in September 2010 in Prospect Heights, Park Slope, South Park Slope and Sunset Park. You can find them at Vanderbilt Avenue's Summer Streets on June 12th, between 2pm and 5pm (http://prospectheights.wordpress.com/). More details about Sophie, Stephanie and Brooklyn Beanstalk can be found at www.brooklynbeanstalk.com.

ISB will continue its commitment to bringing language learning programming to Brooklyn children. Spanish and French after school and summer camp programs will be offered in ISB?s Carroll Gardens school building beginning in September 2010. Schedules and registration information will be available on the website in August 2010.

Thank you for all of your support and fun times in Playgroups!

Edna Ortiz, Playgroups Teacher & Coordinator
Jen Henriquez, Camp Director
Rebecca Skinner, Co-founder and Executive Director