For Immediate Release
July 17, 2003

Contact: Jeannette Warnert
(559) 241-7514
cell (559) 240-9850
jwarnert@uckac.edu

Spanish-immersion students visit the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center near Parlier

Fresno -- Twenty-two children, aged 5 to 8 years old, will get a Spanish-language tour of the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center near Parlier from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, July 18.

The children will visit field research sites and laboratories at the 330-acre agricultural research station. At snack time, they will pick and eat ripe fruit from trees.

The children are enrolled in the University of California, Merced, Spanish Immersion Summer School, a seven-week program designed to introduce English-speaking children to the Spanish language through drama, music, art, science, stories and games. All instruction and teacher-child communication is in Spanish.

"Early language immersion improves overall school performance and gives children superior problem-solving skills," said Helen Sullivan, director of the UC Merced Division of Professional Studies. "They gain a new appreciation for Spanish speakers."

Who:
K- through 2nd-grade students learning Spanish
Spanish- and English-language interviews available with teacher and Kearney tour guide

When:
9 to 11 a.m. Friday, July 18

Where:
University of California Kearney Research and Extension Center
9240 S. Riverbend Ave.
Parlier, CA
(At the southeast corner of Manning and Riverbed avenues, just east of Parlier.)

What:
Students participating in a research station tour as they learn the Spanish language and agricultural science by "immersion."

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