Oklahoma loses its only Mandarin immersion program

I just heard from a teacher who had taught in the Jenks Public Schools Mandarin immersion program that the district is phasing it out and no new Kindergarten classes have begun since the 2021-2022 school year.

The program was established with great fanfare in 2010. It launched at Southeast Elementary School in Jenks and fed to the Sino-Trojan Academy at East Intermediate School.

It began with a $1.5 million award through the US Department of Education’s critical language program in 2009. The program was meant to continue through high school and on to the University of Oklahoma’s Chinese language program.

The Jenks Mandarin immersion program was the only one in the entire state of Oklahoma.

Does anyone have information about why the program is being phased out? I can’t find much online.

Jenks is a suburb of Tusla, Oklahoma, one of the fastest-growing cities in the state