Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

BY SHIRA TANZER

KTAR News 92.3 FM education solutions reporter

PHOENIX — The Mandarin immersion program at Gavilan Peak School in Anthem is being phased out due to low enrollment, a recurring issue in recent years.

Deer Valley Unified School District Deputy Superintendent Gayle Galligan said a standard kindergarten class is 24-26 kids, and the minimum for an immersion class is 20. But right now, fewer than 10 prospective students are interested in the Mandarin program for the upcoming school year.

“In immersion programs, we go from kindergarten through eighth grade before kids go up into high school,” Galligan said. “If you don’t have a robust kindergarten group of kids over nine years, there is just natural attrition with families moving or making other choices, and so that number in kindergarten tends to dwindle all the way through 8th grade.”

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