INDIANAPOLIS — It's Hispanic Heritage Month, and we're sharing stories of people working to make a difference in their communities.
At one Indianapolis Public Schools classroom, teachers are focused on helping kids expand their language skills from an early age.
Inside Theodore Potter Elementary School, students spend half their day learning in Spanish and the other half in English.
Fifth grader Elienai Ventura Andres has been in the dual-language program since she was in kindergarten.
"It feels good, because when there's new students, some of them are only speaking Spanish, so I could help them," she said. "I translate sometimes for them, or sometimes I only speak English, you know, Spanish and I translate for them, too.
"I just feel like helping people is the right thing to do, and if they like sometimes like kindness, if you spread kindness, it can come back to you."
Josep Anton teaches math and science solely in Spanish. He taught in Spain for years before coming to the United States.
He said it is really important for students to learn the language young.
"That's a good tool for socializing. Then when we become adults, it's a huge tool to find a job with more possibilities, and it's another way to open your mind on a wider way," Anton said.
Theodore Potter Elementary is one of the first public schools in Indiana to have a dual-language program, so they have students from the time they are in kindergarten all the way until fifth grade.
Students come from all over the district to learn at the school. Once they finish fifth grade, they can continue in the dual-language program at the middle school next door if they choose.
School administrators say there are spots open for students interested in transferring into the dual-language program.