The leave of absence of Rocio Sotelo, Spanish VII and Spanish VIII teacher for the past five years, prompted Spanish department staffing adjustments, according to language department head Jane Hudacek.

Hudacek said Kristina Christiansen, who taught Spanish II and Spanish III part time last year, now works full time teaching the classes Sotelo previously taught.

“She [Christiansen] is filling the position of Rocio Sotelo, who is on a leave of absence studying cooking at Le Cordon Bleu,” Hudacek said.

Christiansen said teaching the students in the immersion track differs greatly from teaching the students who begin Spanish in middle school.

“It’s a huge change,” Christiansen said. “Instead of talking about verb endings all the time, we are talking about things like alternative medicine and family structure.”

Christiansen said she thinks her new position brings her challenges, but she is well prepared from years of teaching experience.

“I have been teaching on and off for a lot of years,” Christiansen said. “This is, I think, my 10th year teaching high school Spanish.”

A goal Christiansen said she has in her new position is for the students in Spanish VIII, AP Spanish language and culture, to succeed on the AP exam in the spring.

“My biggest hope, since I am filling a leave of a teacher who had done this role for five years is that these kids do well on their AP exam in May,” Christiansen said. “I don’t want them to feel let down because they got the nonnative speaker for the year.”

Hudacek said the school hired Charisse Litteken to teach Spanish II and Spanish III, classes taught by Christiansen last year.

Littiken said although she is new to Park, she has a long history of teaching Spanish. Littiken said she taught in St. Louis Mo., in Edina High School, in Wayzata High School and, most recently in Shanghai, China.

“This is my 24th year teaching,” Litteken said. “For most of them, I’d say all but a few, I taught Spanish and advised publications.”

Littiken said her goals for her students this year are proficiency, good relationships and a desire to continue learning Spanish.

“My hopes are not only to have the kids be more proficient in Spanish, but also to develop good relationships with their classmates and me, and to want to continue to study it,” Littiken said.