Charter school offers immersion in Chinese, Spanish

Nelson Garcia 3 hrs ago

DENVER – In the old Whiteman Elementary building, teachers are doing something never done before in the Mile High City. They’re teaching kids every subject in Mandarin.

“We really felt that there was definitely a strong demand here in Denver for this kind of program,” said Kristy Fantz, co-founder of the Denver Language School.

Within the Denver Language School, nearly half the students are enrolled in a full immersion program teaching them Mandarin Chinese. The other students are in a full immersion Spanish program, all tuition-free as a Denver Public Schools charter.

“We use the language 100 percent in teaching not only the language arts, as well as other subject contents,” said Jian Lin, Chinese program director.

Students learn math, social studies, and science all in Mandarin. Students are not allowed to speak English in class.

“We use the interactive white board to show the elements,” said Lin. “The hands-on activities always help the kids to understand.”

The Denver Language School currently has grades kindergarten through second grade. It will eventually be a K-8 school as the program adds a level each year.

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