Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • Big new report on Mandarin immersion programs just published

    Want to know what’s up with Mandarin immersion programs in the US? Looking for information on how to help your child’s school? Trying to convince your school district to open a new Mandarin immersion program? There’s a new report out for you. Published this month, it titled, “PreK – 12 Mandarin Immersion Programs in the…

  • Dual-Language Immersion Programs and School Diversity 

    Note that this is long and pretty research-heavy, and much of it is about Spanish immersion programs. But still, some interesting thoughts on how immersion programs function compared with bilingual programs, which are focused on English-language learners so that they can learn English while retaining their home language. I will say there are counter-arguments made…

  • Being in Mandarin immersion enhances kids’ ability to discriminate musical pitch

    An interesting study… From a paper published in Development Science for May. Compared musical pitch perception of young US children enrolled in Mandarin-language immersion education to their peers enrolled in English-only education at the same school. Mandarin-immersion education is associated with children’s enhanced ability to discriminate musical pitch, even when differences in working memory are…

  • Utah’s renowned immersion programs under threat

    Utah has the best statewide language immersion program in the nation. The Salt Lake Tribune Parents of students in Utah’s dual language immersion programs in Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish should be concerned about the Utah State Board of Education’s decision to eliminate the entire state team of DLI directors and coordinators. This…

  • Tucson-area Mandarin immersion school earns A+ rating

    By Tucson Local Media StaffApr 15, 2026 Updated Apr 16, 2026 Both Sunrise Drive Elementary School and Ventana Vista Elementary School have been named 2026 A+ Schools of Excellence by the Arizona Educational Foundation. The two Catalina Foothills School District schools are among 48 public schools across the state to earn the designation this year. Sunrise Drive…

  • Private schools with Chinese ties nixed in Florida

    I don’t follow the politics in Florida, nor, really, the for-profit private school market. But this is an interesting story about how it’s all playing out in Florida. For the purposes of this blog, what’s interesting is that the Spring Education Group has 15 Mandarin immersion schools, 14 in northern California and one in southern…

  • California Mandarin program makes splash at national conference

    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…