Frequently Asked Questions
after school class faqs
Are you offering classes in person?
We are! See your school's PeachJar flyer for more info, view flyers here, or email info@iessandiego.org
We also plan to still offer online sessions for families who wish to continue online.
What grades levels do you serve?
Our after school classes are geared toward K-8th. We also offer alternative programming for students in High school, students younger than Kindergarten, or students with other parameters (such as home schooled).
When will I know if my student has gotten a spot in the class at their school site?
We will contact all families by the deadline posted on your site's flyer with an enrollment update.
How do I pay for my student's tuition?
We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover or personal checks ($5 off when paying by check). We will contact all families by the deadline posted on your site's flyer with an enrollment update and payment instructions for your chosen method of payment.
How do I apply for financial aid?
We believe every child should have the opportunity to become multilingual. Our financial aid packages range from a sliding scale scholarship to full scholarships based on enrollments and financial need. To learn more or apply, please visit our financial aid application.
How are in-person after school classes conducted?
In-person classes meet once weekly for an hour. We enforce all of the same covid precautions of sanitization, masking, and distancing requirements in place for the San Diego Unified School District. We have a 1:15 ratio of teachers to students and provide classes for K-5. Enrollment is on a first come, first served basis and we abide by seating charts for contact tracing when necessary. Staff and students will be required to wear a mask when required by the district.
Do you have guidelines students must follow to be enrolled?
Yes! All students are expected to follow a code of conduct centered on respect and responsibility. If there are any behavior concerns, we will first reach out to the family to share those concerns. If the behavior continues over 2 more classes, we may ask your student to withdraw and offer a refund for unattended classes. This ensures that all registered students have an equitable and safe experience when it comes to their time in Spanish class.
Do I have to enroll or can I just try out a class?
For security reasons, we cannot allow drop ins to our after school classes so to register, you would need to fill out this form.
What if my child will be absent and miss an in-person after school class?
Whenever your child will miss a class due to appointments, vacation, etc., we ask that you email iessandiego@gmail.com to let us know. This is for the safety and security of all participants. Please see the next question regarding required quarantines.
What is your pick-up policy?
If enrolled, students must be enrolled in an additional childcare program following Spanish or picked up promptly after class. If any student is picked up more than 10 minutes late, there is a minimum $10 late pick up fee plus $1 per each extra minute.
What if my child has to quarantine and miss an in-person after school class?
If your student is required to quarantine and we have online classes running, we will invite your student to attend online. If we do not have online classes running, we will assign some extra activities for them to do via Rockalingua from home by request.
What happens to after school in-person classes if schools have to close again?
We hope this doesn't happen but if it does, your student's class will automatically moved online. Please note online classes meet for 30 minutes of online instruction and have students work asynchronously at home for 30 minutes via Rockalingua.
Do in-person after school classes meet every week?
In person classes meet each week your student has school scheduled. We do not meet on school holidays or if campus is closed. All amounts calculated for classes take school holidays into consideration.
When will in-person after school classes be offered at my site?
We are working hard to make this possible at all sites. We are limited by site space restrictions; if a particular school site does not have space to accommodate us, we may offer online classes as an alternative for students at that site.
What if my student has to withdraw from an in-person after school class?
If your student has to drop an after school class, we will issue a refund for any classes not attended. There is a non-refundable enrollment fee of $23 and any classes attended will be charged at $17 per class. What remains will be refunded using your original payment method.
General program services faqs
Will my student have a lot of Spanish homework they have to do?
No. Anything "assigned" in IES Spanish classes is optional and not required (though extra practice will help a lot with any language learning).
Do you offer private classes/tutoring?
We do! Please see the information on our Alternative Programs page and email us at info@iessandiego.org with any questions.
What ages do you serve?
We can hold classes for students from pre-school through high school (and even adults). For our students who are older than elementary age, we have curriculum more suited to their age.
online class faqs*
*Online classes require a minimum number of students are will not be offered unless that threshold is met.
How and where are online classes be held?
We use Seesaw to form classes for our students and Google Meet for our live video meetings.
Online activities will be completed in both Seesaw and Rockalingua.
Google Meet is how we securely deliver our live lessons and students may access it through Seesaw or through the link sent by email to parents of registered students.
Learn more about Seesaw here.
Learn more about Google Meet here.
Learn more about Rockalingua here. Learn how to login and find tasks here.
Before your session begins, we will send out more detailed tutorials to help you navigate these platforms.
Will we have to keep track of new login information for Seesaw and Google Meet?
No, adding your student to Seesaw will be easy. You'll be sent a link to the Seesaw app and a unique code for your student's class. We recommend signing in to Seesaw as a student using their San Diego Unified student ID and password via Google and with the code we provide to join the class. On live lesson days, students will go to their Seesaw IES Spanish class and click on the link to open their Google Meet video lesson. No extra sign in should be required. If you are having trouble with this method, we can also provide a QR code to scan each time your student wishes to access their digital Seesaw IES Spanish classroom.
How often will my student have online Spanish class?
Students meet once a week in a live 30 minute session with an IES teacher and they will have additional enrichment activities assigned to them through Seesaw and Rockalingua for completion at home.
How much time will my student be spending on this each week?
Our live online lessons are 30 minutes each. Additional activities posted to Seesaw/Rockalingua are optional and may take between 10-30 minutes depending on the student and the activity.
Will my student be in an online group with other students from their school and their grade level?
It's likely! Classes are formed based on student age and student language level and when you told us your student can meet. This means that your student might see friends from their school (we will do this as much as your schedules allow) or that they may be making some new amigos!
Will my student be taught by the IES teacher that they had at their school prior to school closures?
Classes are formed based on student age and student language level and when you told us your student can meet. This means that your student might have their same teacher (we will do this as much as your schedules allow) or that they may have another one of our great IES teachers!
Will there be class rules for live online lessons?
Yes! Students are asked to follow rules similar to those we had in our after school Spanish classes (make good choices: be respectful, be responsible, ask others to do the same) as well as digital citizenship rules such as making safe and appropriate choices on their devices and not sharing passwords.
Can parents attend the live online lessons?
For best practices and outcomes, we request only students attend live lessons but you are more than welcome to help out and work with them in their interactive Seesaw and Rockalingua activities. Please think of this as the school day. We welcome and encourage parents to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Do I have to enroll or can I just try out a class?
For security reasons, we cannot allow drop ins so to register, you would need to fill out this form.
Will I need to print materials for my student to participate?
No. Seesaw is completely digital and uses your student's camera and microphone to fully integrate them into activities and while some Rockalingua activities offer the option to print, it is not necessary. If you do not have a device with a camera and microphone, we encourage you to reach out to your school principal as all San Diego Unified students have the right to receive a district device with these features to use during this time.
What if my student doesn't like the online classes or can't attend?
While we are working very hard to keep our business going/teachers employed and make these sessions enjoyable to all ages and levels, we understand if it's not a good fit for your student or your family during these times. If you paid for a month, we can issue a refund for the classes that your student did not attend. We cannot refund "missed" classes however. If the online classes aren't the best fit for your family, we encourage you to follow us on Facebook where free activities in Spanish and general pandemic related guidance for families with school aged children is being posted often.
What did we miss? What questions do you have?
The easiest way to reach us is via email and we'll get back to you as soon as we are able to.