Portland, Ore. to (finally) get a second Mandarin immersion school

Portland Public Schools has multiple language immerse programs. On Jan. 27 the school board voted to add four more:

LANGUAGE IMMERSION: Portland Public Schools next year will see four new language immersion programs, including the state’s first Vietnamese program.

Language immersion involves teaching core subjects in both English and another language to help foster bilingualism. The expansion will be one of the largest in Oregon, where Portland Public Schools has long been a leader in language immersion.

From the Oregonian:

The board on Monday unanimously voted to establish programs at four schools:

• A Mandarin immersion program at King School, which will begin with two kindergarten and two first grade classrooms and expand until eighth grade.
• A Vietnamese dual language immersion program at Roseway Heights, which will begin with two kindergarten classrooms and expand until eighth grade.
• A Spanish immersion program at James John, which will begin with two kindergarten classes.
• A Spanish immersion classroom Sitton, which will begin with two kindergarten classes.

The new Mandarin program will be in the northern part of the city. The current school, Woodstock, is in the city’s southeast. King school is K – 8 and also is an IB school.