BVNW is adding a new course to the 2026-27 school year. The Spanish for Heritage Speakers class is designed for students who are native Spanish speakers.
The course idea was proposed by Spanish teacher Andrea Smith and was unanimously voted by Blue Valley schools to become a course next school year.
Instructional Design Coach Kari Hillen said BVNW is the first Blue Valley high school in the district to start this class and is the “pilot” school for this course.
An email with a Google Form was sent out by Hillen to all the Spanish-speaking students and their families about the new course at the beginning of November.
An AST meeting was held later that month, where Hillen talked to the students about the course.
“There was a lot of energy and I don’t know that everybody is going to decide to go into it, but I think they were also happy,” Hillen said.
After the AST meeting, she met individually with the students to collect sample writings, ask questions and discuss an interest form containing background questions students answered.
Freshman Olivia Large is fluent in Spanish and currently enrolled in Honors Spanish 4.
Large attended the AST meeting along with many others.
“It’s honestly a really good environment and it creates a good community with people,” Large said.
To get into the class, Hillen said one needs to be proficient in all modes of Spanish. There is a diagnostic test to show the students’ learning. The diagnostic test will be taken with the students’ counselor or with Hillen in the office.
Spanish teacher Conny Gutierrez said they will review the level of Spanish students already know individually and then in order to qualify for the course, students must be at a certain level of Spanish where they can further expand their learning.
“Wherever the students may be, the course will start up right from where they last left on,” Gutierrez said. “This may vary among the students since some of them may have a good comprehension on how to write and read, while others might just know how to speak the language.”
Smith said the course will primarily focus on developing linguistic skills, literacy skills and on acquiring information about students’ heritage.
According to Smith, there is a wide variety of needs among students, with some not being as proficient in certain aspects such as grammar. It will come down to the amount of experience each student has individually and what will better benefit them in the future.
“We can certainly focus on those higher-level skills that help them develop more academic vocabulary in the language, or those specific job skills vocabulary that they could need in the future,” Smith said.
Hillen said the course will focus on comprehension, discussion and vocabulary, emphasizing academic skills such as writing.
“Some of it is very Spanish class-like, and then parts of it are like what we see in an ELA class. So we’re hoping for it to be a nice balance,” Hillen said.
She said the class is intended to prepare students for honors and AP Spanish courses and acts as a “springboard” into the classes that offer college credits.
“[It takes] the skills and the knowledge of the Spanish language that they already have and then combine it with some academic language and vocabulary,” Hillen said.
Growing up, Gutierrez always dreamed of having a Spanish class that was closer to her level of understanding. She always felt that the other Spanish classes her school offered were too easy and never really focused on what she truly needed to work on. She is excited to get to work on this course and can’t wait for students to get to experience this class for the first time.
“To have a class that we’re able to offer for that specific community that I wish I had when I was in high school, I’m really excited that Blue Valley is able to offer that,” Gutierrez said.
Beyond honors and AP, she said the course can also help students earn the Seal of Biliteracy.
“That seal [will] potentially be an opportunity that could open different doors once the students graduate,” Gutierrez said.
In addition, the class will also incorporate cultural and heritage-based learning. Students will have the opportunity to share past and prior experiences they had with their families, and be able to relate to others.
“It gives them that safe space to be able to celebrate and be upright in their heritage and share that with others,” Smith said.
Furthermore, Gutierrez said they hope to explore different artists and music as well as exploring what makes the community unique. They hope to obtain students who come from many different countries to have the opportunity of learning about who they are and their own cultures. Gutierrez wants each and every one of the students to feel welcomed and for them to have a safe space where they can celebrate their culture.
“It’s really welcoming all of that and having conversations of how our cultures are similar but also unique in their own way,” Gutierrez said.
Sophomore Sofia Valdes is fluent in Spanish. She is currently enrolled in Honors Spanish 4. She said she attended all the meetings and might take the class.
“It’s about building on abilities that you already have,” Valdes said. “It also helps to reaffirm your heritage [and] learn more about that part, since you don’t really do that in normal Spanish courses.”
Gutierrez said that their main goal will be to strengthen the skills students have and by the time they have completed the course, they should have obtained a higher level of Spanish overall.
“The goal is really to strengthen and elevate those skills that they already have, fine-tune them, and then potential [have] those students merge into higher level Spanish,” Gutierrez said.
Hillen said if the class goes well next year, they are hoping to get a second-level Spanish for Heritage Speakers class approved as well.
If students are interested in learning further details about the course or enrolling in it, they may talk to Hillen, Smith, Gutierrez or their counselor for more information.
