West County Mandarin School school wins award for “innovative practice” during COVID

West County Mandarin School (WCMS) is a Mandarin immersion, International Baccalaureate (IB) school located in Pinole, California.  WCMS is the first Mandarin immersion public school in California to earn the acclaimed authorization as an IB school.  WCMS opened on August 21, 2017 with three kindergarten classes, and it will grow to K-6 by adding a new grade each year.  Additionally, a Mandarin/IB program will continue in middle school. WCMS will have grades K – 5 in the 2022/2023 school year.  

 The WCMS immersion model is one-way; students are not required to know any Mandarin prior to attending.  Even so, nearly a quarter of the students are intermediate to advanced speakers, and they enthusiastically help the novice students.

West County Mandarin School is the culmination of a collaboration between parents and community members and the West Contra Costa Unified School District.  It is the first Mandarin immersion school in the WCCUSD and the first whole school Mandarin immersion program in an East Bay Public School District.  Students from all over the District attend WCMS.  Our community is bonded by the desire to provide a quality, multilingual education that will prepare our students to become critical thinkers, leaders and problem solvers in our increasingly globally connected world.

See the kids giving testimonials about their school here.