Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

by Neil Gonzales / ContributorDecember 22, 2025, Redwood City Gazette

The Redwood City School District’s Mandarin Immersion program made a splash on the national scene recently.

The spotlight, however, falls on bilingual education as it continues to contend with long-standing challenges, including funding concerns and a shortage of qualified teachers.

Last month, Principal Winnie Chen of Orion Alternative School – which houses the Mandarin program for transitional kindergartners through fifth-graders – led a well-attended training session at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) annual convention in New Orleans.

“Presenting at a national convention does speak overall to the strength of ideas that are presented in a proposal,” ACTFL Executive Director Larry Paska said in an interview with the Pulse. “We do get thousands of proposals. There are only so many session slots to go around, so it’s exciting to know that someone who has an accepted proposal and is able to come and present does get that feedback reflected back in their community.”

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