St. Anthony's Catholic School
About
Two-Way Immersion K-8 in South Des Moines
St. Anthony's Catholic School is the only school in the Diocese of Des Moines offering a language immersion educational track. The South Des Moines school runs Two-Way Immersion (TWI) in partnership with Boston College, meaning English and Spanish speakers learn together — each group supporting the others' language growth.
Programs Offered
The school runs both traditional and immersion tracks side by side:
- Preschool Spanish immersion
- Kindergarten TWI (Two-Way Immersion)
- Elementary TWI (grades 1–5)
- Middle school TWI (grades 6–8)
- Traditional English-only track available
What's Included
- Two-Way Immersion with Boston College partnership
- Catholic school academic standards
- K-8 continuity with dedicated language track
- Mixed heritage and non-heritage classrooms
- Native-speaker Spanish instructors
Experience
St. Anthony's fits Des Moines families who want long-term bilingualism inside a K-8 Catholic school framework. By 8th grade, TWI students are genuinely bilingual and biliterate — a rare depth for the Des Moines area, especially in a parochial setting. The two-way model means Spanish-speaking and English-speaking families attend together, creating a natural peer learning community.