International Charter Academy of Georgia Graduates First Class of Students

On June 5, International Charter Academy of Georgia (ICA Georgia), a Japanese-English dual-language immersion charter school that opened in fall 2018 in Peachtree Corners, graduated its first class of kindergarten and fifth-grade students. The graduation ceremony took place from at the school’s campus, located at 3705 Engineering Dr., Peachtree Corners, GA.

ICA Georgia opened its doors at the beginning of this school year as a statewide charter school, open free of charge to any K-5 student residing in the state of Georgia. ICA Georgia uses the Dual Language Model for Japanese and English instruction, in which the ratio of time spent in each language favors Japanese in younger grades and shifts to balance more evenly with English as students age.

All core subjects are taught in both languages, exposing students to a wide range of content learning areas in the target language and enhancing academic achievement in general. English and Japanese teachers use a team teaching approach, and pull-out classes are available in both languages to ensure the success of non-native speakers.

Former Georgia State Representative Tom Taylor (District 79) commented upon the school’s opening, “Our state needs employees who can speak more than one language, and there is no better time for its citizens to acquire language skills than when they are young. This charter school will also be an excellent educational environment for children with parents who come from Japan to do business in Georgia.”

Barbara Kennedy, Ed.D, Director of Dual Language and Bilingual Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics, states, “Multilingual education is a research-validated approach to promoting second language acquisition among students of various language backgrounds. Additionally, multilingual education can provide opportunities for the promotion of cross-cultural understanding among students, who, in turn, develop important lifelong skills that enhance their ability to interact effectively in our increasingly globalized world.”

The US State Department designates Japanese as a Critical Language, and there are more than 600 Japanese companies in Georgia. Yet despite the increasingly globalized nature of our society, research indicates that Global Literacy is low in American youth (Council on Foreign Relations, 2016). Studies show that immersion students develop greater cognitive flexibility, increased attention control, better memory, and superior problem-solving skills compared to their peers. (See Lindholm-Leary, Dual Language Education. (2001)). ICA Georgia’s mission is to provide the students of Georgia with the skills they need to succeed in our increasingly globalized society.

For further details about the school, visit www.internationalcharteracademy.org, call 770-604-0007, or email info@internationalcharteracademy.org.