Frequently asked questions.

Yes — if your child speaks Spanish at home. Spanish-speaking students can join at any grade, because they already carry the language most of the school day runs on. For students with no Spanish background, we hold the line: the immersion model only works when the Spanish foundation is built early, so students new to Spanish cannot enter after December of their 1st-grade year. Not sure which side your family falls on? Ask us — we're glad to talk it through.

Book a tour — it's the first step in our application process and the best way to see what makes the school different. You and your child will walk the classrooms, meet our staff, and get honest answers to everything you're wondering. Tours run by appointment Monday–Thursday, and classes are intentionally small, so it's smart to reach out early — we'll tell you exactly where things stand for your child's grade.

This is not a school with a Spanish class — this is school in Spanish. Our classrooms mix roughly half native English speakers and half native Spanish speakers, and children learn core subjects in both languages, so both groups become bilingual and biliterate — and help each other get there. You can read the full explanation on our dual-language model page.

No — children arrive in exactly this situation all the time, and the model is built for it. Gestures, visuals, songs, predictable routines, patient teachers, and bilingual classmates surround your child with meaning long before they understand every word. The first few weeks are an adjustment; by month two, kids are usually using Spanish phrases at home without realizing it.

The research on strong immersion programs is reassuring. A small, temporary dip in early English reading is well-documented — and so is the catch-up: by the mid-to-upper elementary years, dual-language students typically match or outperform their monolingual peers, with a whole second language to show for it. Foundational literacy is built in Spanish first — its consistent spelling and vowel sounds make learning to read more predictable for young learners — and skills like blending and segmenting sounds transfer to English rather than needing to be taught from scratch. Formal English literacy instruction begins in 2nd grade, and the English share of the day grows by design — 90/10 in Pre-K through 1st, 80/20 in 2nd, and 70/30 when 3rd grade arrives in 2027–28.

Your child learns from native Spanish speakers — teachers who grew up speaking it in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and beyond. Our staff comes from six countries, 100% of them are fluent in two or more languages, and our director of curriculum holds a doctorate in language, culture, and literacy education. Meet every one of them on our About page.

Yes. Sol & Son is Christ-centered, and the whole school hangs on three pillars: Biblical Character, Authentic Community, and Cultural Diversity. Character formation is woven through the day in both languages — inside math, reading, recess, and how we handle conflict — rather than taught as a separate class. You can read exactly where we stand in our Statement of Faith.

Elementary (K–2nd) tuition for 2026–27 is $8,470 for the full year before any scholarship — and with the NC Opportunity Scholarship applied, out-of-pocket can be as low as $48/month for qualifying families. Pre-K Enrichment runs $3,300–$6,600 per year depending on age and whether you choose 2 or 4 days. The full breakdown, tier by tier, is on our Tuition page.

Every North Carolina K–12 student is eligible, regardless of household income — your income tier just sets the award, from $3,578 up to $7,942 per student per year. You apply through the state at k12.ncseaa.edu; the priority window falls in February–March each year, and late applications are still considered while funds remain. One caveat: the scholarship is K–12 only, so it doesn't apply to Pre-K — for Pre-K families we offer separate private scholarships funded by community donors and grants.

Sol & Son is an approved Direct Payment School with NCSEAA, so the state pays your award directly to the school each semester. You never front the tuition and wait on a reimbursement — you simply pay the difference between your award and the year's tuition.

A deposit reserves your child's spot at enrollment, and the amount varies by grade level. After that, the extras stay modest and predictable: a $100 supply fee at enrollment, uniforms (about $200, purchased by parents), a $10–$20 monthly family field study, and small bank processing fees — roughly $532 a year at the very most. Full-time students on the four-day schedule qualify for sibling discounts in both Pre-K and Elementary — $25/month for the first sibling, $18 for the second, $10 for each after that — and children of our teachers attend with at least 50%, and up to 100%, of tuition paid.

Elementary runs in person Monday–Thursday, 8:30 AM–2:30 PM; Pre-K runs half-day mornings, 8:30 AM–12:30 PM. Friday is a virtual day for Kindergarten and up — a live check-in from 9:00 to 9:30 AM, then optional 15-minute one-on-one blocks with the teacher until noon — and Pre-K doesn't have a Friday virtual day. We also follow a year-round calendar: about six weeks on, one week off, with the same roughly 180 school days spaced out on purpose. See the calendar and schedule for the full picture.

No — and we'd rather you know that up front. Pre-K Enrichment is half-day only, offered 2 or 4 days a week, so it isn't a replacement for full-day child care. It's the play-based, 90%-Spanish on-ramp into immersion for families headed toward Kindergarten and up, which is full-day.

We're at 1152 E Main Street, Franklin, NC 28734, on the bottom level of Franklin First Assembly of God Church — minutes from downtown. Most of our families are from Franklin and Macon County, but plenty drive in from Otto, Highlands, Sylva, Bryson City, and even Clayton, Georgia.

Sí, claro. Choose “Español” or “Both / Ambos” when you request a tour and a Spanish-speaking team member will guide your visit. Spanish-speaking families are half of who we are — you'll feel that from the first hello.

Yes. Research shows English learners perform at the same level or better on state standardized tests in English when they are in a dual-language immersion program than their non-dual-language peers. This method helps students learn English effectively without losing their first language — and the stronger a child’s foundation in their home language, the better they tend to do when a second language is introduced.

We have all seen it happen — the “No Sabo” kids. When children enter Kindergarten in an English-only school, they quickly learn that Spanish is not valued and makes them stand out as different to their peers. They start to refuse to respond in Spanish, even if they understand. This is because the community language always wins out, and the heritage language is hard fought. Less than 50% of children of first-generation immigrants teach their children Spanish — in one generation, language is lost, and suddenly children cannot communicate with their grandparents. It is also important for Spanish speakers to know how to read and write in Spanish, because being bilingual isn’t just being able to speak. Future employers want someone who can translate documents, read notes, and communicate effectively in print.

Yes. Regardless of the language spoken at home, your child will become proficient in Spanish and English. There is a real challenge in learning three languages at once, but children are resilient. If you feel your child can manage this environment well, you are welcome to apply.

We don’t assign homework in the traditional sense. We believe home is for connection with family and for an environment where learning happens naturally. The best thing you can do is read to your child in your native language — research shows that is the strongest single indicator of childhood literacy success. We’ll always be transparent about what we’re learning in class so you can reinforce it at home, in whatever language you speak.

EOGs are given in English starting in 3rd grade, and by then English instruction has grown substantially under our graduated model. Our school is independent of the NC public school system, so while we administer the tests and take the results seriously, they are not what determines whether a student passes or fails.

We recommend staying through at least 5th grade — and definitely not leaving before 3rd. Language skills build year on year, so leaving early can mean a child doesn’t get to keep what they’ve gained. We plan to offer Sol & Son through middle school at least, with dreams of a high school. We’ll check in at the end of the first nine weeks of Kindergarten and 1st grade to make sure the program is a good fit for your family.

We want to be honest here: at this time Sol & Son does not have the resources that public schools have for accommodating significant special learning needs. Please talk with us about your child’s specific situation — we’ll tell you plainly whether we can serve them well.