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Ilona Horchler considers her education from the Robert Goddard French Immersion School a gift.

Perhaps it's no surprise that Horchler, 27, plans to give back to her alma mater as the first of the school's students to return as a teacher.

Horchler began the French Immersion program in 1987 at age 5 at the school, then continued to Rogers Heights Elementary School in Bladensburg and graduated from eighth grade in 1996. The program moved to its Seabrook location in August 2002.

Horchler, who teaches second-grade math, French, social studies and science, said she hopes to continue the French Immersion tradition by enrolling her son, now 4, in the program next fall.

"I was hoping to be at a school like Robert Goddard — I didn't know if it would work out," said the Cheverly resident. "I'm really excited about being here."

Horchler said she appreciates knowing another language and understanding the cultural experiences that accompany a foreign language, and hopes her students will enjoy it, too.

"Speaking French provides another worldview. There are some things you can't translate that make you understand that other culture," Horchler said. "It's such a powerful language to use in life."

Principal Kona-Facia Nepay said that Horchler's fluency in French and understanding of the school's model and teaching method played a big role in her getting hired.

"She understands it from a student perspective, not just a teacher," Nepay said. "She understands it because she lived it. English is a no-no in the classroom. She is a product of immersion and knows that it works. I don't have to convince her that it works."

Nepay is among several current faculty members who were teachers while Horchler attended as a student, although none taught Horchler.

"She's just adorable — she wants so much to do well, and already I can see her going the extra mile. For me it's a dream come true," Nepay said.

Horchler's father, Gabriel Horchler, 65, of Cheverly, a native of Hungary, said his daughter also speaks Hungarian and Japanese. After graduating from the University of Toronto in Canada in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations, she taught English for two years in Yasugi, Japan.

"It's just the fact that [the students] were exposed at such a tender age to a second language," he said. "It really opened their minds to other languages, other cultures."

Gabriel Horchler said the family moved from Washington, D.C., to Prince George's County in 1988 for the French Immersion program, which was risky as it was only in its second year. Horchler and his wife were involved in the PTA and class field trips.

"It turned out to be a good move," he said. "Public schools offering this is unusual — people pay a lot of money for this."

Three of Ilona Horchler's five sisters also attended the Robert Goddard French Immersion program. One sister attended Robert Goddard Montessori.

Maureen Foster of Hyattsville, the mother of Robert Goddard French Immersion eighth-grader Anna, 13, and the school's PTA president, said she has known the Horchler family for the past seven years.

"In a way she's paying it forward, looking at what she got out of it," Foster said. "Students can see that French can take you through your whole life."

E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.