BALTIMORE
INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY
EAST
International Education for Global Leadership
About BIA East
Baltimore International Academy (BIA) East is free, public charter school chartered by Baltimore City Public Schools and open to all Baltimore City residents. BIA serves students in Grades K-8. Kindergarten and First Grades are the typical entry points for language immersion programs. BIA is funded by Baltimore City Public Schools, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the United States Department of Education.
Our Programs
BIA West offers both language immersion and is a candidate for the International Baccalaureate (IB) program in the Primary and Middle Years Programs.
Students' families choose one of five language immersion tracks
SPANISH IMMERSION
RUSSIAN IMMERSION
CHINESE IMMERSION
FRENCH IMMERSION
ARABIC IMMERSION
ENGLISH
Students become fully immersed in their target language for their entire academic careers at BIA East. By the end of the program, students are bilingual and biliterate in both English and their chosen target language. Students will also have the opportunity to take another language as an elective once they reach the Middle School level.
History of Language Immersion
Language immersion programs originated in Canada in the 1960s and are designed for students who are not native speakers of the target language.
Over 95% of BIA East students speak only English at home. Students typically enter the program in kindergarten or first grade, and most need to gain a background in the target language.
English
Learning English at an International School
In kindergarten and First Grade, BIA East students are learning to read and write in their target language only. However, in 2nd Grade, English Language Arts (ELA) is introduced as a formal subject for one hour per day. Students will go to a separate teacher who specializes in English Language Arts. Students will continue receiving ELA for one hour per day from 2nd through 8th Grade. While BIA introduces English in the 2nd Grade, some immersion programs wait until the 5th Grade to teach English.
Homework
Homework will come home in the target language. We do not expect our parents to be proficient in the target language, and we know that the vast majority of them are not! Homework will always be a review of what was already learned in class.
Parents should provide a quiet place for their students to complete homework and encourage them to complete all homework to the best of their ability. It is the teacher's responsibility to check for understanding and make sure that the student is grasping the concepts being taught. However, the teacher will usually send a homework calendar home in English so that parents know what their children should be working on each night. Homework may also be posted on the BIA East website.