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Italian is 'Bella' at California High Schools

By Ana Tintocalis / Education Reporter,  KPBS Public Broadcasting
Published February 2, 2007 at 2:14 PM PST
This story was published more than 17 years ago.

State School Superintendent Jack O'Connell is working with the Italian Ministry of Education to improve Italian language courses here in California. KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.

Italian is 'Bella' at California High Schools

State School Superintendent Jack O'Connell is working with the Italian Ministry of Education to improve Italian language courses here in California. KPBS reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.

Italian is the hip, new language students want to learn at Hilltop High School in Chula Vista. The language is also popular at 32 other campuses in California. Superintendent O'Connell wants that number to grow. He says the partnership with the Italian Ministry of Education is part of an overall strategy to make students more competitive in a global economy. Hilltop teacher Maryon Lopez says teacher exchange programs will help breathe new life into her language classes.  

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Lopez: Dealing with language, I would be able to bring back the freshness of it, because Italian is an ever changing language. I mean look at all the richness of vocabulary you bring back.

Students and teachers will also get extra learning materials focusing on Italian language and culture. Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.

Ana Tintocalis
Ana Tintocalis was a member of the KPBS radio news team from 2001 to 2011. She first served as a as a producer for "These Days" (now "Midday Edition") and then later as the station's education reporter. After graduating from California State University, Long Beach with a journalism degree, Ana began working as a field reporter and anchor at KLON Radio 88.1 FM in Long Beach, covering breaking news in Orange and Los Angeles counties. During that time she also freelanced for other print and broadcast news organizations, such as Metro Networks, the Associated Press, and Santa Clarita Our Times. In 2001, Ana traveled for more than three months in Cuba where she produced a radio series focusing on the street music in Havana. Upon returning from her journey, Ana freelanced as a reporter covering court cases for the Antelope Valley Press, a newspaper based in Palmdale, California.
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