Our alumni are the best ambassadors of our small tuition-free charter school. We recently reached out to 3 Arco Iris alumni to hear about where they are now and how their time at Arco Iris Spanish Immersion School impacted their education, career aspirations and life. We’ll let their stories do the talking: 

Olivia Welsh

Olivia attended Arco Iris for 3rd and 4th grade only, but says it was two of the most impactful years of her life thanks to the foundational Spanish skills and friendships she gained. In an interview, Olivia touched on how the unique multicultural setting of Arco Iris supports students to grow as global citizens: 

You’re not just teaching kids languages. You're teaching them something about interculturality. And that, in an increasingly globalized world, is really beneficial. Having that already started at a young age is super beneficial, whether they go into nursing, business, or international relations. 

Olivia is beginning her third year at Linfield University (with a friend from Arco Iris!) where she is double majoring in International Relations and Spanish. She currently works in the Spanish Department and recently spent a January Term abroad in Spain where she comfortably and confidently spoke the language. Olivia is an accomplished traveler, having already lived in 3 countries, but she remarked that bilingualism has made her travel experiences richer, allowing her to be fully immersed in the culture. Olivia is looking forward to a semester abroad in Spain in Spring of 2024. 

Everett Clough

Everett Clough attended Arco Iris for 8 years. His parents chose a bilingual education for him as a kindergartner, and he says the small classes and personalized attention were also a factor in their decision. While at Arco Iris, Everett gained skills beyond conversational Spanish which he credits with improving his life and academic career: his Spanish proficiency supported his admission to the selective Honors College at Oregon State University. 

Being bilingual opens up a ton of doors that you don’t even initially realize existed…it has made life, travel, work and relationship building a lot easier because of my ability to speak Spanish.

Everett also believes that being bilingual has made him a better employee and global citizen. Arco Iris’ true multicultural setting helped him to learn about new cultures and to better understand the world around him. One of his favorite memories of Arco Iris was a class trip to Puerto Rico where he put his Spanish skills and knowledge of the culture into practice.

Aubrey Schiefelbein 

Aubrey and her family chose to attend Arco Iris to learn Spanish, but found much more than they imagined when they were welcomed into our close-knit community. As a student for 8 years, Aubrey believes another school would not have been able to offer “the community and the love and happiness it brought.” From memories of dancing and acting at all-school shows, to watching her classmates perform, Aubrey developed a sense of belonging that she carries with her today. 

Now a rising junior at Jesuit High School in Portland, Aubrey continues to grow her Spanish skills in Advanced Placement Spanish class and Spanish Heritage class. She is a confident Spanish speaker and can converse fluently with native speakers. Aubrey dreams of putting her Spanish skills to use in her future career as a translator and community resource. 

Thank you Olivia, Everett and Aubrey for sharing your inspiring stories. We can’t wait to see where you go next!  If you are ready to set your child up on a path to bilingualism, global citizenship and academic success, visit our website to learn more about our award winning program or enroll today to get started.

About Arco Iris

Arco Iris Spanish Immersion is a small tuition-free public charter school providing a rich, immersive Spanish language experience and robust academics in a true multicultural setting. Centrally located off 217, between SW Portland and Tigard, we serve K-5 students in the greater Beaverton area to become bilingual and biliterate leaders of the future. Come see why we’ve earned the title Oregon’s #1 charter school. We’re enrolling for Fall 2023-24.