Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Since April 2005, Kosciusko County has been a test site for a Colorado-based Reality Spanish program.
In hopes to improve local services in health care, law enforcement and general work environments, participating individuals are taking a unique approach to learning Spanish.
"It's a revolutionary communication tool," Gaye Teipel, founder and director of the Lingo Lynx program, said. "And we're giving everyone in the community the ability to connect with the language."
Participants have learned the language by taking part in in-depth story-telling sessions.
Groups, guided by a program mentor, are introduced to Spanish words and phrases which are spoken, written and acted out.
This process is repeated until individuals find a comfort with the language and their own ability to communicate what they have learned.
The county is one of four areas in the country working with Lingo Lynx, the organization directing and monitoring the Reality Spanish program. Other beta sites are in New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada.
Teipel, of Buena Vista, Colo., created the program in hopes of teaching the language to help limit cultural barriers present in many communities throughout the United States. Spanish speakers in Kosciusko County amount to 7 percent of the population, with as much as 10 percent of area students being bilingual or dependent on Spanish. According to Teipel, better communication throughout a community will help create a safer and more comfortable environment between citizens.
For Warsaw, the program will focus on communications in educational services and law enforcement. Later phases will address issues in healthcare and workplace interaction.
"I think Warsaw needs to learn the Spanish language to be able to immerse everyone into the community," Mayor Ernie Wiggins said. "The more we can learn, the better off we'll be at getting rid of cultural barriers we've experienced." The Kosciusko County Community Foundation, LifeQuest Advisory Committee and Health Care Foundation also have shown support for the program, by working with Lingo Lynx to provide the appropriate models and programs for the Kosciusko area. "This is the closest thing we have to bring ethnic and racial groups to a higher level of respect and communication," Wade Jagger, program mentor and Wawasee High School teacher said. "This is all about valuing people."
