Forrest G. Averill Elementary School is located in Lansing, Michigan. It is a public school for grades K-5 and has a population of approximately 300 students and 18 teachers. One main factor that sets Averill Elementary School apart is its Spanish immersion program. Spanish Immersion An immersion program is a great way for young students to learn a new language. Current research and studies show that children in these early years of their lives have a much easier time learning and retaining information such as foreign language. The way an immersion program works, as the name suggests, students are spoken to and expected to respond in the foreign language. In this case Spanish. The idea is to simulate the way that children naturally learn language. When we first learn to speak, we aren't taught how to do so. We learn through observations and hearing others around us speak. This is the idea behind the Spanish immersion program. Involvement with Michigan State University Averill Elementary School is also involved with Michigan State University's intern teacher program. They are one of several schools in the Lansing area to welcome newly graduated education majors from Michigan State University to complete their internships and become certified teachers.