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Inwood Dad Pushing to Launch French Dual-Language Program at Nursery School

 The Y Nursery School at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood at 54 Nagle Ave.
The Y Nursery School at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood at 54 Nagle Ave.
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DNAinfo/Carolina Pichardo

INWOOD — A French-born father wants to make his native tongue a part of everyday life in Inwood by launching a dual-language program at a local nursery school.

The program, part of the Y Nursery School at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood at 54 Nagle Ave., currently has 10 students interested but needs a total of 15 3- to 4-year-olds to get the program off the ground this coming, said the school and program co-founder Enrique Gonzalez.

“Children [will] have the opportunity to learn by interacting with their environment and by collaborating with their classmates and teachers,” said the father, who grew up speaking both French and Spanish, adding that morning classes will be in French and afternoon in English.

Gonzalez, a father of a boy and a girl, said the program would be structured to fit with the nursery school's usual lesson plan. The school already offers a dual-language program in Spanish, with a second one set to kick off this September, said Susan Herman, director of early childhood services at the school.

“The program is open to everyone — no prior knowledge of French is needed,” he said, adding he plans to enroll his own children in the program.

Gonzalez, who moved to the area from France 12 years ago, launched his campaign for the program in late April along with local parent Sophie Aska, after seeing a growing interest in the language and French culture but very few resources available to meet it, he said.

Aska is French-born local resident who also runs a French-English reading hour at the Inwood Library every other Saturday.

“Families have the options to either move from the area or have a long commute to the closest schools,” Gonzalez said.

Out of 154 dual-language programs in the city, there were 21 in Northern Manhattan public schools alone this past year, according to Manuel Ramirez, district superintendent of elementary and middle school for the Department of Education.

Gonzalez said if his program receives enough applicants by early next week, classes can commence in September.

"I really believe there is a need to have a [French] dual-language program here," he said. 

Interested parents can contact the school at 646-738-6090.