Hanover County's first stab at offering foreign languages to elementary-school students is going muy bien, say some of the students and teachers spending a few weeks in a Spanish program this summer .

The school division is offering a two-week enrichment program in Spanish for rising secondthrough fifth-graders. The first session, at John M. Gandy Elementary, ended last week.

The next session is running this week and next at Pole Green Elementary. Students from all over the county were invited to either session.

About 50 students in all are participating.

"Their brains are like a sponge," said Stacy Stanford, who is teaching the classes along with Melanie Ruggieri. Both are Spanish teachers at Patrick Henry High School who volunteered.

"We're enjoying a fresh perspective on  things," Stanford said. "I'm amazed at what they picked up on so quickly."

Katie Pomfrey, a rising fourth-grader at South Anna Elementary School, took part in the session at Gandy.

"I liked the songs," she said, referring to songs such as 'Itsy-Bitsy Spider' that they learned in Spanish.

Coming into the program, her Spanish was limited to "a few numbers and words," she said.

Unlike some neighboring school divisions, Hanover does not offer a foreign language to elementary students, though it's something school officials say they're thinking about.

Chesterfield County offers Spanish, French or Chinese in nearly one-third of its 38 elementary schools. School officials there hope to have all of them offering a language by the 2012-13 school year.

Richmond offers Spanish in all 28 of its elementary schools, and the school division will start a Spanish immersion program this fall in two elementary schools -- Southampton and William Fox. Kindergarten students will learn math, science and some health in Spanish.

Henrico County offers German at Springfield Park Elementary, and Lakeside Elementary offered a Spanish pilot program this past school year.

Hanover school officials say they're moving cautiously toward incorporating a language into the regular curriculum.

Ines Ragland, lead teacher specialist for world languages and English as a Second Language, said the school division's 2007-2013 long-range plan includes a study going on right now that looks at how to implement a language curriculum from kindergarten through twelfth grade, which languages would be offered, how much it would cost, and a realistic time frame for a districtwide program.

"The expectation for the summer enrichment program . . . is that it will generate an interest and a desire on the part of our students to learn a second language," Ragland said by e-mail this week.

Katie Pomfrey's mother, Laura Pomfrey, said she hopes the school division continues to offer languages to young students.

"They are so excited at this age to learn," she said.
Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.