Inspiring Conversations with Jennifer Santana of Sol Spanish Immersion School

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Santana.

Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
During the shutdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic, I started researching different pedagogies to supplement the learning materials of my oldest daughter’s public school. I also thought it was a great opportunity to have her learn more Spanish by incorporating it into some of her lessons.

While investigating ways to make her lessons more engaging and fun, I came across the education model of Finland in books like Amanda Ripley’s The Smartest Kids In the World & Teach Like Finland by Timothy Walker. I was struck by how different Finland’s view of school was compared to traditional ways of teaching children but yet their learning outcomes were one of the highest in the world.

Finland has a relaxed approach to education, where children learn through play, they are encouraged to bring out their own personalities, and also learn to be very independent at a young age, at age-appropriate levels. For example, putting their own coat on, pouring a glass of milk, or taking their own tray away at age 2 or 3.

One day, while a little over halfway through Teach Like Finland, I had pretty much decided I needed to live in Finland. However, after much thought, I decided instead to try to find a school similar to those in Finland in the US.

Unfortunately, there were none. I did more digging around and discovered Helsinki International (HEI) Schools that offered preschool franchises with lesson plans following the National Curriculum of Finland. This research-based curriculum is created by the University of Helsinki, one of the world’s top universities in the field of education. It focuses on a whole-child approach, where children are supported to learn beyond academic skills. There is a strong appreciation for transversal or 21st-century skills such as empathy, compassion, teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity.

I partnered with HEI Schools as a franchisee and I opened HEI Schools Franklin in December 2021 with the distinction that our particular location is a Spanish Immersion school. Little by little our school has grown and in doing so, we now have an amazing learning community of children, their families, & wonderful teachers.

This August we plan to expand, adding a Kindergarten grade, which will advance to a first grade in the fall of 2024. We are also rebranding as Sol Spanish Immersion School of Franklin while continuing to implement the National Curriculum of Finland & HEI Schools curriculum.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
In addition to the high-quality pedagogy planned together with the University of Helsinki and HEI Schools in Finland, we decided to expand and offer a Spanish Immersion program (Sol Spanish Immersion School) & organic meals made fresh at our school daily. Our learning spaces are designed to go well with our pedagogy; the way our classrooms look and feel makes the children feel more calm and relaxed. The toys and learning materials are high-quality, engaging toys that enhance their curious minds and also work together with the furniture and the whole learning environment.

The design is based on Nordic architecture and nature (that has proven to calm busy little minds), and it is present in the material choices in both furniture and the learning materials. Also, our teachers have been carefully selected and trained. In addition to being native Spanish speakers, all of our lead teachers have education degrees and all of our assistant teachers have college degrees. When our school first opened, two Finnish mentor teachers traveled from Finland to our school to train our local teachers on how to deliver high-quality pedagogy, which is supplemented with online support and training from Finland.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Life has definitely thrown me a fair share of curveballs. I am not certain what the future holds for the field of education. However, I truly hope that the latest education reform, Common Core Standards, will be reconsidered. It emphasizes “high-stakes” (school funding depends on student performance) standardized testing as means of holding teachers accountable for their student’s learning.

I strongly believe in a more holistic view of learning and we need to start taking into consideration that it is basically impossible for any teacher to control the many factors that truly determine a student’s success on a standardized test. I also hope that in future reforms, ways to resolve the current teacher shortage are implemented, such as raising the amount of respect and salaries given to teachers.

Contact Info:

• Website: wwww.heifranklin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heischoolsfranklin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heifranklin
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/hei_franklin
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hei-schools-franklin-franklin-2
• Other: Blog https://preschoolfranklintn.com/preschool-prek-private-school-blog 

Image Credits
Nancy Huffaker