The Ministry of Education, through Spanish Language and Culture Heritage Program (ALCE), provides, free of charge, complementary language and culture classes to Spanish citizens' kids living abroad who are attending elementary, middle or high school in U.S. institutions. Spanish teachers teach these classes, which are extracurricular and are offered in several schools around New York City, Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and Montreal (Canada).
The Ministry of Education has established two Spanish sections in the USA: UNIS (United Nations International School), in New York and the International Studies Program (ISP) that takes place in nine elementary, middle and high schools at Miami-Dade school district in Florida.
United Nations International School (UNIS)
The Spanish Section of New York (UNIS) was created in 1997 with the aim of enhancing opportunities for Spanish language education within the context of international educational experiences, especially through the development and implementation of integrated curricula for Spanish Language and Literature and Geography and History (Humanities). UNIS serves a student population of 1,430 from 97 nationalities on its Manhattan campus (2024-25), where the Spanish-speaking community is one of the largest and continues to grow.
International Studies Program (ISP)
The Ministry of Education has established a Spanish Section in nine elementary and secondary schools (K-12) in the city of Miami (Florida), integrated into the International Studies Program (ISP) of the Miami-Dade County School District. This Spanish Section, created in 1986 under an agreement between the Spanish Ministry of Education and the Miami-Dade Public School System, expands the possibilities of receiving Spanish education in the context of intercultural and bilingual educational experiences. Some 3,600 students receive this education each academic year.