Mission Statement

We believe that academic foreign travel is an integral part of a young person’s education.

First, we believe that the experience of living in a different country is irreplaceable and irreplicable in the classroom. In that regard, the peculiar history of Spain and the Latin American countries where Spanish is spoken offers students a singularly rich set of opportunities to increase their ability to deal with fundamentally different cultures, and to understand complex cultural processes.

Secondly, we believe that young people must learn to effectively communicate to people of different cultures in a language other than their own. Castillian Spanish offers significant practical advantages to students in the United States, both in the extent to which it is used here, as well as in the number of other countries with which the United States is developing growing ties.

Thus, our mission is to

1. Offer students travel experiences to learn Castillian Spanish in places where this is naturally spoken.
2. Offer students travel experiences where they will learn about the history and culture of a Spanish speaking country, while living there.
3. Promote the importance of foreign travel in the education of young men and women.

We believe that effective educational programs must include a wide range of experiences that are appropriate to the specific cultural context, and that meet the needs of the whole person. We believe that effective learning takes place optimally in physically safe, emotionally contained environments, where adult support and guidance is clear, engaged, and informed.

Program Supervisors

	Daniel Shannon is an educator with over 25 years experience in Foreign Language education in independent schools in the United States and in Argentina. From 1991 to 1997 he was Language Department Chair at the Maret School in Washington, D.C., where he started organizing and leading educational trips abroad. After pursuing doctoral studies in language acquisition at the University of Maryland (abd, 1998), Daniel co-founded Spanish Learning Abroad, Inc. with Elizabeth. He is currently Language Department Chair and Spanish teacher at The Potomac School in McLean, VA.
	Elizabeth Shannon has been working in independent schools in the United States and Argentina since 1980, initially as a classroom teacher and for the last ten years in administrative positions. Elizabeth co-founded Spanish Learning Abroad, Inc. with Daniel, and has chaperoned programs for 5 years. She is currently the Director of Communications and Marketing at the McLean School of Maryland.
	Alex Thomas is the 9th grade Academic Dean and Spanish teacher at The Potomac School in McLean, VA, and has been an independent school educator for 17 years. A seasoned traveler, he has lived in Madrid and Barcelona and has led many student trips to Spain. He has been leading “Sevilla Es Una Maravilla” programs since 1999.
	Cristina Salamone has been an educator both in public and independent schools in Connecticut and Virginia since 2002. Currently an 8th grade Spanish instructor at the Potomac School in McLean, Virginia, she has traveled extensively with students and has lived in Seville and Madrid, Spain. Cristina goes back to Spain several times a year not only with her 8th grade students, but also to visit her husband’s family in the region of Castilla-León. This will be her second summer leading a student group with Spanish Learning Abroad, Inc.