Local mom says online Spanish course is teaching Jacksonville students incorrect grammar

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville mom Norma Martinez said her daughter’s advanced Spanish course through the Florida Virtual School is riddled with errors.

Atlantic Coast High School senior Chanttal Martinez noticed something was off when she logged onto to her Spanish course.

“When I first started taking the class, I was like, 'Well this is different than how I speak at home,'” Chanttal said.

Her mom, Norma Martinez, a fluent Spanish speaker, always checks her work. She was shocked at what she found.

“It was a mess. Errors, syntax is incorrect,” Martinez said. “Everything is wrong in that course.”

Action News Jax's Lorena Inclán, who is also fluent in Spanish, took a look and noticed some errors.

It’s not something you’d expect to see in an advanced Spanish lesson.

“The worst Google translation that I have seen in my whole life,” Martinez said.

Martinez said she reached out to the Florida Virtual School and claims the administrators admit to knowing about the errors.

“They’re expecting the parents and the other teachers to let them know which are the errors,” Martinez said.

Martinez said she’s speaking out so that other parents are aware. She now questions how much oversight virtual courses really have.

“Parents are trusting the system and the system should teach their children in the right way,” Martinez said.

Duval County Public Schools said it’s not affiliated with Florida Virtual School.

Florida Virtual School sent Action News Jax the following statement:

"FLVS takes quality control very seriously. When we become aware of an error, we take immediate action to review and adjust where needed. The FLVS Spanish 3 course launched this past summer. This is the first call we have received regarding any errors in the course. Our students have an open line of communication with their teachers and are invited to voice any concerns that can then be forwarded to our Digital Publishing team. We are currently reviewing the entire Spanish 3 course again, and as always, continuing to consider the varying Spanish dialects."

Cox Media Group