CLASSROOM IS RICH IN CULTURE

When students at Central High School walk into Donna Ellis' classroom, they travel to another culture -- a Spanish-speaking culture.

Ellis, who has been teaching in the Cape school district for 18 years, tries to make her classroom a "culturally rich environment."

"I try to plant a seed and provide a challenge," she said. "I try to bring a new perspective to their lives and teach the love of people and the culture."

By 2010, Spanish will be the No. 1 language spoken in the world, and it takes seven years of intense study to be fluent in any language, she said.

Through the help of state incentive grants, Ellis hopes to bring the Spanish language and culture to students in Southeast Missouri. Two years ago, she was the only foreign language teacher that applied for a state incentive grant.

Now hundreds of Missouri teachers apply for the grants each year. And in such a competitive field, it's unusual to receive consecutive grants. But Ellis has received each grant she's written in the last three years.

This year's grant concentrates on multimedia and Internet access. The Internet access will allow each student in the Spanish III, IV and advanced placement classes to have a Spanish-speaking electronic mail pen pal.

"It's exciting to walk in and see you have a message and know that you are going to write back," Ellis said, adding that it gives the students another reason to learn the language.

After attending a technology seminar last spring, Ellis knew she wanted to use e-mail in her classroom. She began collecting addresses through the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Inc. Each student now has a pen pal in a Spanish-speaking country.

When Ellis told her classes last year that she wanted to write the grant, one student who had a computer at home found a pen pal in the Springfield area that teaches Spanish.

"She brings the letters to the class and we read them and she writes back," Ellis said, adding that with Internet access, the teaching possibilities are endless.

Now students can see Mexican museums and tour shopping districts from the computer screen. It may even lead to an exchange program in the future, she said.

To help students learn the language quickly, Ellis also uses a 52-episode drama called "Destinos." It is the story of one Mexican man's quest to locate his family before dying. When students watch the show, they learn new vocabulary, geography and culture.

"It's a wonderful way to bring in other aspects," Ellis said, adding that it's another way to make learning a real experience. "I believe in it 100 percent."

Writing grants is another thing Ellis believes in wholeheartedly.

"When you write grants, it becomes more challenging each time," she said. "You have to be committed and I want the kids to learn. All you need is to give them something to get involved with."

Now Ellis is looking at other ways to use the computers and equipment in her classroom. The grants have brought a wonderful teaching tool to the classroom, she said, adding that many of the programs and equipment wouldn't have been available through the school budget alone.

Helen Gibbar, another teacher at Central, also received a state incentive grant for her biology and chemistry classes.

About 65 students use digital cameras, computers and a scanner as part of interactive lessons in biology or chemistry. The multimedia equipment was paid for through grant funding.