Charleston Bilingual Academy is having an online auction AND concert… and you are invited!
Here’s why I think you should be a part of it.
- Online auction: The possibility to purchase great loot from the comfort of your home (I’ll be wearing my pajamas). Seriously, check out some of the great experiences and products, from Charleston staycations to 5-course tasting menus to cyrosculpting packages. What’s the harm in taking a look? Check out the auction here.
- Concert: The opportunity to listen to a great strings concert performed by Charleston International Music School, featuring the Melendez siblings, at a time before your child’s bedtime, with childcare provided (for the first 120 reserved childcare tickets). They are also serving food from Home Team BBQ, Chick-fil-A, and homemade desserts! And bonus, there will be a salsa band opening the event! Get your tickets here!
- Be a part of something bigger: The chance to contribute to a great school whose mission is to impact their community and the world!
My Family’s Charleston Bilingual Academy Story
I discovered Charleston Bilingual Academy (CBA) last spring through Charleston Moms Blog Summer Camp Guide (CMB is packed full of local resources! Be sure to check regularly for local guides!) After a study of CBA’s website and a visit to talk with the director, I fell in love with the school and their mission. CBA is a school dedicated to best educational practices in a language-rich, immersion environment, focused on Christ-centered and intercultural content. Their mission? To inspire world changers. Add on all the research about bilingual learners. . .Who wouldn’t want to get on that school bus? So I signed my son up for their summer session.
But even with knowing that the staff was invested in creating memorable, fun learning experiences for my child, I didn’t have high expectations for summer camp. I imagined that my son would listen to some Bible stories. Maybe pick up some Spanish songs, but the majority of his time would be playing (and water splashing!) in the summer heat.
And that’s exactly what happened. However, what I didn’t anticipate was how by attending summer camp, my son’s eyes were being opened to a wider world.
Seeing the Bigger Picture
Later that summer, after my son waved adiós to summer camp, we took a holiday trip to Asheville, North Carolina. While doing the touristy thing, we encountered a family speaking a language foreign to us.
“They’re speaking Spanish, Mom!” my four-year-old said, rather loudly.
“Actually, Son, it isn’t Spanish. It’s a different language. Isn’t it neat that there are people who speak other languages all over the world?”
“What are they speaking, Mama?” he asked.
“Let’s ask,” I said.
So we went over to the other family, and through a little coaching, my son exchanged that he was learning Spanish and had noticed that they were speaking another language. The family generously explained to my son that they were speaking Vietnamese. They then taught him a few words (my son teaching them the equivalent Spanish words), and together my son and their son, just a little younger, ran off to play before we both parted ways.
It was such a simple interaction, but I don’t think it would have happened if my son had not gone to summer camp at Charleston Bilingual Academy.
Through the introduction and immersion into the Spanish language at CBA, he suddenly started listening to other people. Before this, he wouldn’t have noticed. He would have been oblivious that there was a whole unique culture just a family away. And the opportunity to reach out, learn, and show kindness would have been lost.
Why CBA?
In a world that can be so full of hatred and bigotry, I applaud a school that brings people from diverse cultures together. They are teaching their students to be open to and celebrate diversity through the beautiful way we communicate, language. When a child is able to see beyond whether someone looks or sounds different than themselves and extend a hand of friendship, that’s when stereotypes are broken, and world changers are created. When those paradigms shift, our children will create societies that disregard skin color, economic status, or disabilities, and see people for who they truly are.
That’s why I love this school. And that’s why I think you should check out their online auction or attend their concert.
Why is CBA Raising Money?
Charleston Bilingual Academy is a private school currently serving students from 20 months old to 2nd grade. Their dream is to continue to the 8th grade. The money raised through the online auction and concert will go towards this goal. 
Although I trust my son’s learning of the A, B, C‘s and 1, 2, 3’s will someday take a central role in his education, for now, my greatest hope would be that he can continue learning the lifelong lesson of kindness and inclusion, something we can all be reminded of.
For more information about Charleston Bilingual Academy, check out their website here.
