New Charter School Opens For Non-English Speaking Students

A new charter high school in Las Cruces will focus on teaching non-English speaking students and those who weren't successful in conventional schools.

New America School- Las Cruces will be open to both teens and adults looking to get their high school diplomas.

"The focus is to empower the immigrants," Acting President of the Governing Council for the school board Benito Dominguez said. "We believe in English immersion, so the non-English speaker, whatever language it is, they'll be immersed in English classes for four hours."

Dominguez said classes will only run Mondays through Thursdays.

While the school does welcome adults, Dominguez said he expects around 70 percent of the students to be of high school age. Dominguez said the kids will range from those who need to learn English, to those who faced behavioral issues in other schools.

Lourdes Cruz has a 12-year-old son named Antonio, who will be entering high school in less than two years. Cruz said she plans to consider the new charter school as an option for him.

"It will help my son and students like him in the community because they need a school that caters to Spanish speakers," Cruz said.

All of the teachers will having training teaching English.

As a non-English speaker, Cruz said having teachers who can communicate with her fluently will allow her to be more involved in her child's education.

"The majority of us go to the schools and we can't communicate with the teachers," Cruz said. "We always have to bring someone to translate and it's not always done correctly."

The school board hasn't decided on a location yet in Las Cruces, but they said that they are looking into areas that will best serve the immigrant community.

The school is expected to open in August 2012.