The goal of the Janney Elementary Language Program (JELP) is to offer Janney students in kindergarten through 5th grade a program of immersion and experiential language classes in French, Spanish, and Mandarin. Classes are designed to be accessible and fun, foster an interest towards other world languages and cultures, and encourage students to feel confident communicating in a functional way in a second language.
In an effort to keep all students safe, Janney+ follows the regular school-day nut-free policy for all programming. This nut-free policy includes those products that have peanuts and tree nuts in the ingredients list. Check for nut products and by-products in foods sent to school. Products that list nuts in the ingredients are not permitted. Note this nut-free policy extends to all Janney+ camp days, including offsite field trips.
Class Schedule. Classes begin September 9, 2019 for groups who meet on Monday and Wednesdays and September 10, 2019 for groups meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All language classes take place twice per week for the 2019-20 school year either before or after school. For guidance on which language class to pick for your child, please see the JELP Policies, Student Placement section or contact language@janneyschool.org with questions.
We offer mid-year JELP services for pre-kindergarten students beginning in January. We find it preferable to give our pre-kindergarten students the first half of the school year to become acclimated to the new school environment and join the language program in January.
Registration is for the entire 2019-20 school year. Because of small class sizes, we insist that students attend their language classes on both days during the week. Regularity and consistency are beneficial for individual students and for the group. Over the school year, all JELP classes meet for 60 sessions. At the discretion of the JELP Director, students may be allowed to join JELP during the course of the school year and only under exceptional circumstances.
Calendar. Click here to view the Janney+ Calendar 2019-2020. JELP class days are marked with blue rectangles (Monday/Wednesday classes) or blue ovals (Tuesday/Thursday classes). If JELP classes are canceled for weather-related reasons, we will use the planned make-up days provided for in our calendar. We do our best to inform parents about class cancellation as early as possible. We follow DCPS inclement weather decisions, whereby if DCPS announces a snow day, both JELP a.m. and p.m. classes are canceled. If DCPS decides on a two-hour delay, only a.m. classes are canceled. In case of doubt, please see the DCPS website homepage.
Our programs use the Campsite registration system. You may log in to your family’s Campsite account to register or view your current registrations, pay a balance, complete your child’s enrollment forms and change enrollment details, and update your family information. If needed, create your Campsite account using the link at the bottom of the login page.
Tuition Fees. Tuition for the yearly program is $980 for morning classes, which are held for 45 minutes, and $1160 for afternoon classes held for one hour. A 20% non-refundable deposit of the class tuition is due upon registration and a $25 fee is applied to all cancellations. JELP registration requests after the close of registration will be assessed a $25 late fee. Payments by installments and scholarship are available by application on a needs basis. Families who choose to pay by installments are still required to pay for the full year of language classes. This is the only way we can guarantee continuity to all students in the program and keep program costs lower than any other language school.
Students registered for JELP and JAC on the same day are eligible for a discount of $4 per class. All discounts will be pushed to student Campsite accounts. Discounts will be pushed via mass transaction monthly after JELP/JAC match is confirmed. Families must have their student registered for JAC by the first of a month in order to be eligible for the discount that month. If a student is enrolled in Annual JAC, they will have their discount pushed in a lump sum the month after they enroll their student in annual registration.
Tuition Reduction. Tuition reduction is offered on a needs basis. To apply, email the Janney+ Executive Director at PlusED@janneyschool.org.
Parent Handbook. A complete reporting of our policies and procedures for the 2019-2020 school year is in our 2019-20 Janney Parent Handbook received upon registration in your Campsite Parent Dashboard.
Immersion. We believe that immersion is the most efficient approach to language-learning over time. If students know that their teacher will explain content in English and/or systematically translate content into English, they will not engage with the target language. Our teachers, therefore, aim to speak the target language at least 90-95% of the time during class. It is important that students are prepared for that and reassured that they are not expected to understand every word the teacher speaks! All of the activities in class involve visual support, props, body movement, routine and repetitive language to help students understand the message. Over time, they will feel confident using the target language in contexts they have become familiar with.
Student Placement. Placement of students in language classes is based on their age group and years of exposure to the target language. We ask that parents refer to the bullet points below when registering their children for language. Please note that we may recommend a particular class based on demand and/or on teacher’s advice and we always favor a child’s best learning interests over schedule constraints. While we try to accommodate as many requests as possible, we cannot guarantee that a student will have classes on a specific schedule or will have the same language schedule as their sibling. Our aim is to achieve the greatest level of coherence and homogeneity within each group so as to offer both teachers and students an optimal setting for fun and efficient language-learning and teaching.
Each language class will follow a curriculum adapted to student grade/age group. We have developed a total of six curricula where each curriculum builds on the vocabulary, comprehension, and language-use learned from the previous one. Note that the curriculum that a student will follow is a reflection of their seniority in JELP rather than their level of fluency. In other words, subsequent curricula are not necessarily more difficult than the ones prior. Taking into account that we have students joining our JELP in every grade, with some new to language-learning, we make sure that no student repeats a previously studied curriculum. Based on the group’s level of fluency, the teacher will adapt her expectations and her lesson plans within the framework of the curriculum in question.
FRENCH/SPANISH
CHINESE
HERITAGE SPANISH
We also offer two multi-grade advanced Spanish classes for “heritage” speakers. These classes have more academic content (grammar, spelling, conjugation) and involve more in-depth listening and reading comprehension. They are exclusively for children who speak Spanish at home, have regular and extensive exposure to Spanish, and/or have recently lived in a country where Spanish is spoken. We reserve the right to switch a child registered for heritage classes to a non-heritage group if it is determined, in consultation with the teacher, that he/she does not have the required level of fluency.
Cancellation. The language program is a year-long program and we ask parents and students to sign a contract outlining their commitment to the program at the start of the school year. This commitment is key in providing continuity and stability in classroom communities that will enable students to progress over time. It is also the only way we can keep our tuition fees lower than other language schools. While we do recognize that circumstances may change over time, requiring a child’s schedule to be reevaluated, our cancellation policy is as follows:
A child who has withdrawn from JELP is not eligible to re-enroll for the rest of the school year.
Attendance. In order to ensure continuity of learning for your child and the rest of the class, we insist that students attend both classes every week. Homework is usually assigned to students on the later of the two days of language class, Wednesday or Thursday. It is very important that you let the JELP team know if your child will not attend a specific session so that we can keep track of all students. Please email schedule changes to language@janneyschool.org and plusattendance@janneyschool.org.
Behavioral Expectations. Students are expected to act in a manner appropriate for a school environment. We understand that there might be days where it is harder for children to focus and engage in the class; however, on days where a child does not want to participate and their demeanor is disruptive to the class, the student will be sent to morning JAC for supervision and then released to Jamboree. Persistent behavioral issues will be addressed with parents and the school and could result in dismissal from the JELP session. In such cases, refunds are not provided.
Pick-up and Sign-out. Morning students are expected to arrive in the cafeteria no later than 7:45 a.m. For younger students or students who cannot make it to the cafeteria on their own to check-in, please walk them to the cafeteria and wait for their instructor to arrive. Their language teacher meets them there and escorts them to the classroom. They are dismissed on the turf field just before morning Jamboree.
Afternoon students are released to the atrium by their homeroom teachers at the end of the school day. Kindergarten students are walked by their homeroom teachers to the language tables. Students are then given a snack before being walked to the class by their language teacher.
JELP pick up is at 4:45. Please arrive closer to 4:45 to limit the amount of congestion in the hallway.
Children who have not been picked-up by 4:45p.m. will automatically be signed into JAC. When a child is signed into JAC from JELP, parents or legal guardians agree to the JAC terms and conditions laid out in that program, regardless of whether the child is already registered for JAC and may be required to complete JAC registration forms. Once a student is signed over to JAC, JELP is no longer responsible for the care of that student. Contact details for that student are made available to JAC staff.
Remember to inform us if your child will not attend JELP or if someone other than an authorized person will pick up your student. That person should bring identification in order for staff to approve student release. All pick up changes should be emailed to:
Please make sure to update your student’s information in Campsite each year, including your contact information, their teacher, and release information.
Contact JELP. The JELP Director, Marybel Escada, can be reached by email year-round at language@janneyschool.org.
Janney+ is a parent-run non-profit. Tax ID: 82-101-5792.
