Mandarin immersion schools in New York City

It is not easy to figure out which New York City public schools offer Mandarin immersion, as it’s a big district with a lot of schools and a lot going on.

Also, the district lists programs as dual-language immersion which are primarily aimed at students who come into the district speaking Mandarin and who are learning English, rather than being aimed at both Mandarin and English speakers.

In this list, and the larger list of Mandarin immersion school in the United States and beyond I maintain here, I only include programs which in elementary school offer at least 50% of the school day in Mandarin and subject matter classes such as math or science are taught in Mandarin. For middle school, most immersion programs offer two Mandarin classes, a Mandarin language arts class and one subject in Mandarin. In high school many programs switch to one Mandarin language arts class, though some programs offer a subject matter class as well.

I’ve spoken with several people about the programs available in New York and have compiled a somewhat comprehensive list. If you have better information, please tell me.

In Manhattan, this grade school offers both  Spanish/English and Mandarin/English curriculum. The  Mandarin program began in 2010,  Website here.

Henry Longfellow International School for Language and Culture, PS 94

This Brooklyn elementary school offers Mandarin dual-language immersion. See their website here.

Shuang Wen School PS 184

The oldest Mandarin immersion public school in San Francisco, it’s been in place since 1998. Shuang Wen includes both English Language Learners and native English Speakers who study and integrate in all subject area classes, the curriculum establishes an integrated environment that helps each student achieve the highest level of language proficiency. It is K – 8. Website here.

Fresh Meadows PS 173

Private schools

Hudson Way Immersion School

With two campuses, one in Summit, New Jersey and one on the Upper West Side. This long-standing program used to be called Bilingual Buds (as in buds on a tree). The school has a Spanish immersion track and a Mandarin immersion track. Website here.

Avenues: The World School

A for-profit private school created by Benno C. Schmidt (former president of Yale University and dean of Columbia Law School, co-founder of EdisonLearning in 1992) and Chris Whittle, a media and education entrepreneur. The school has a Spanish immersion track and a Mandarin immersion track. Website here.

Polis World School

[Note that I’m not including the International Academy of New York, which describes itself as a Mandarin bilingual school. Because it doesn’t offer 50% of the academic day in Mandarin, it’s actually not immersion.]