Wisconsin to close state’s only Mandarin immersion program
Keep Chinese immersion school open — Kristopher Schroeder
I am deeply troubled by the Verona School Board’s proposal to eliminate the Verona Area International School.
This school is an incredible feather in the cap for the district, and it provides tremendous value for the community. Any student can attend, and this school represents a fantastic way for parents to provide language education for their young children at no additional cost.
Mandarin is spoken by over 1 billion people and is the most widely spoken first language in the world. Many forward-thinking states are pushing for Chinese language education as they see it as a way to improve their chances of increasing business partnerships with Chinese industry.
Chinese culture is over 5,000 years old and offers a different perspective than our standard euro-centric world view. But the unique character and tonal nature of the Chinese language makes early exposure and immersion incredibly vital to obtain fluency. The Verona School District should continue and increase its efforts to support the International School by renewing its charter for an additional five years. At that time, efforts should be made to reassess the viability and success of this school.
Please read more here.
Mandarin Immersion Parents Council 
The School Board has not yet voted to close VAIS, they will vote in the near future on whether to renew our charter for another 5 years. But, there are at least 2 members of the school board who want to close it despite the fact that our school scores the highest in the district on standardized tests, received the highest score of ALL the elementary schools in the district on the WI Dept of Public Instruction’s “School Report Card” and was recently ranked #5 out of 82 charter schools in Wisconsin!! Other school board members have voiced support for our school. If you want to show support for our school, please sign a petition in support here http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/vais-charter-renewal. It just takes a minute! Or, please take a few minutes and send an email to our BOE members whose emails you can find here: http://www.verona.k12.wi.us/board_of_education. Time is of the essence as we present our charter renewal on Monday night 11/21 and the Board will vote on Monday night Dec. 5th. We would really appreciate everyone’s support!!