Montgomery County (web|news), Md. - Montgomery County's police academy recently added Spanish to its list of available courses. Due to the expanding Hispanic population in the region, the academy is making an effort to teach employees more about Hispanic culture, including offering a class in Spanish.

Rozanne Tedder, a crossing guard in Germantown, still is picking up the basics.

"They really appreciate the fact that we're trying," she says. "The children love it every week they ask me what did you learn this week."

The 22-session classes are offered in four different skill levels and make up a new approach to Spanish language training for public safety personnel in Montgomery County.

35-year teaching veteran Carmen Roman revamped the academy's existing program, which previously included a four-hour course that taught only snippits of Spanish that police officers could use such as "hands up," "hand me your keys," and "get out of the car".

Her course offers a complete immersion in the language. Tedder speaks to her students in Spanish from day one.

Tedder points out that its not only the understanding of the language, but also understanding the cultural nuances that make her program unique.

Commander Nancy Demme works in Wheaton, an area where Spanish can be heard more often than English. Now, she and her officers are making calls with some context they didn't have before. For instance, they realize that many of the disorderly calls they receive are members of the community celebrating and are not meant to disturb the neighbors.

Detective Dorinda Carey wants to continue through all four class levels, but says that even the little bit she now knows goes a long way.

"When they find out that you can speak even just a little bit they say 'oh you can speak they just start going on'".

There are nearly forty students across all levels of the course right now. The classes cost the county about $30,000 a year.