School employees taking Spanish to prepare for possible changes

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) Sixteen people from Aberdeen who work with children and parents are gearing up for the possibility of more Spanish-speaking students entering the city's schools.

Most of the 16 who took an introductory course in Spanish at Central High School are classroom teachers.

But the group included a school nurse, a Head Start educator, a school administrative assistant and a school speech therapist.

It's possible Aberdeen schools will see an influx of Hispanic students over the next few years because of new employment opportunities.

In particular, a beef processing plant being built south of town is expected to have about 600 workers, some of whom are expected to be Hispanic.

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