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¡Hola from GSES! Gulf Shores Elementary School is Making Waves with World Language Education

Gulf Shores Elementary School is proud to be among a select group of public elementary schools in Alabama offering a World Language program—a truly innovative and wave-making initiative!

At GSES, all students from Pre-K through 5th grade participate in Spanish as part of the Enrichment Program. Our approach goes beyond basic language instruction—students engage in Spanish language learning alongside culture, geography, history, music, and art. This immersive model nurtures global awareness and cross-cultural understanding from a young age.

Technology is thoughtfully integrated into lessons, and collaboration is key—our Spanish, Music, Art, Library, and STEAM programs work together to deliver enriching, interdisciplinary experiences that deepen student learning.

Here’s how Spanish is embedded into the GSES experience:

  • Spanish Program as part of the Enrichment rotation

  • Sociedad Hispánica de Amistad to promote cultural appreciation and service

  • Morning Announcements in Spanish to support everyday language use

  • San Jordi celebration—a Spanish tradition combining books and roses

  • Multilingual Library to support diverse language exposure

  • Content-Area Integration, blending Spanish with core subjects

  • Enrichment Collaboration across departments

We are incredibly proud of the opportunities this program provides our students and the foundation it lays for global citizenship, language fluency, and cultural empathy.

¡Estamos muy orgullosos de nuestro programa de español en GSES!

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Some highlights of the GSES Spanish Program include:

  • Sociedad Hispánica de Amistad, Capítulo Don Quijote (Spanish Club, Don Quijote Chapter)- a nationally recognized interest club and honor society for elementary students of Spanish.
  • Morning Announcements in Spanish-  each morning, a member of the Sociedad Hispánica de Amistad shares the habit of the day in Spanish over morning announcements.
  • San Jordi/ Día del Libro/ Premio Cervantes- This three-in-one Spanish holiday falls on April 23rd. Each year at the GSCS Earth Day celebration (held on April 22nd) the Sociedad Hispánica de Amistad and GSES Spanish Teacher recreate the Spanish traditions of giving a book and a rose, and holding a continuous reading of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quijote de la Mancha. Ten dozen roses donated by City of Gulf Shores.  
  • Multilingual Library- The GSES Spanish Department, through funding from GSES PTSO and Baldwin EMC Starlight Grant, is currently building a Multilingual Library! Most books are in Spanish, the language all students are studying, but many are offered in other home languages of GSES students (currently Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Czech, Vietnamese, and Chinese). This project is designed to encourage students to read in Spanish and in their home languages (as well as in English), thereby facilitating not only bilingualism, but biliteracy as well. Gulf Shores High School students may earn the Seal of Biliteracy on their high school diploma.

  • Embedding content areas in language learning- Spanish classes often reinforce key concepts from content areas. For example, students enjoy listening to and reading a story in Spanish, and then review English Language Arts standards on text features. Or, students study current events about the volcanic eruption in La Palma, Spain, and then review landforms (Science standard).