It doesn’t take long for Shaunna Kimble to get interrupted by one of the students at the Colorado International Language Academy.

Throughout a tour of the charter school, the assistant principal is routinely stopped by students between classes for a hug and a quick word.

“There’s no barrier between the kids and I,” she said. “I’m pretty much always available to them.”

This kind of relationship with the students isn’t unique to just Kimble and is a large part of the charter school’s continued success.

The charter school celebrated its 10th year of operations Friday as a dedicated foreign language and culture academy, with much of its initial staff and student families remaining involved all these years later.

“The climate and culture here is unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” said Principal Barbara Rutter, who started off as a special education teacher for the school.

Since first offering classes in 2014 as one of the Global Village Academy charter schools, the academy has earned a strong reputation over the years in providing K-5 students options for immersive education in German, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish along with English and other core curriculum.

With the school’s teachers being native speakers of their respective language, students spend half of their school day learning academic subjects entirely in their target language and the other half in English. The goal is for students to develop proficiency in both languages as well as greater cultural awareness at a young, developmental age.

Lessons and activities revolving around the native countries are also prioritized. These include history lessons, celebrating international holidays, sharing traditional recipes and an annual performance of traditional songs and dances by the students in their target language.

Rutter, a native of Germany, said this cultural education is invaluable to U.S. students, who are only bordered by Mexico and Canada, since these cultures are not as physically accessible to them as they were to her.

“It’s so important for them to experience that,” Rutter said. “Because it’s not like when I was growing up where you could drive for a couple hours and find yourself in a completely different country where they speak a different language.”

After separating from the Global Village Academy in 2019 and initial approval to join Colorado Springs School District 11, the academy opted to remain an independent charter school to focus on adhering to its mission statement to “provide an academically challenging, content-rich curriculum” and “develop citizens of good character and discipline.”

During the school’s 10-year anniversary assembly, Li-Wen Hammer and Yvonne Marschall were honored for their work as teachers since its inaugural year in 2013.

They are far from the only ones with deep ties to the school, though. Multiple staff members like Kimble and English Teacher Coach Tracy Aung began their respective tenures only after their kids finished attending the school after coming away with such positive experiences.

“It’s just been great to celebrate the diversity here and to watch the program grow,” Aung said.

Parents like LaCiana Scott, whose daughter is learning Mandarin in second grade and has attended the school since kindergarten, said she’s appreciated the school’s focus on diversity and inclusion along with parent involvement over the years.

“We also appreciate the opportunity for her to teach us what she’s learned when she comes back home,” she said. “Because we would have never had the opportunity to learn this ourselves.”

With an October student count at 330, along with an additional 35 students in its home-school enrichment program, enrollment has remained strong with the school over the years aside from a brief period of decline during the pandemic. Last year, the school began its first waiting list due to the high number of applications it received.

Going forward, the school looks to eventually move out of its facility that is leased from Pulpit Rock Church in favor of its dedicated space. The school staff also hope to bring back their middle school education that was available from 2014 to 2020 and possibly expand curriculum to additional languages.

“We want to see it grow,” Kimble said of the school’s potential. “I want these kids to have the same opportunities that my kids had.”