A group of Spanish-speaking students in Chula Vista is getting national recognition for passing a rigorous exam. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
More than 40 students at Montgomery High School passed the Advance Placement course in Spanish Literature. No other school in the country had so many students pass the test in this particular subject. Montgomery students take the AP course for college credit. Most of them are native Spanish speakers.
Teacher Sonia Gerado-Perkins says her students read 63 stories from Spain, Latin America and Mexico. She says a story written by Spanish novelist Leopoldo Alas-Clarin chokes her up. It’s about a cow and a set of young twins who have no mother or grandmother.
Alas-Clarin: And the cow represents the cow and the grandmother. And then, they're so poor that they have to sell it to pay for the rent. Everyone is looking forward to seeing me cry when we read that story.
Gerado-Perkins says the course is a way for native Spanish speakers to preserve their language while going on to college. Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
