Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • Menlo Park, CA rejects Mandarin immersion charter

    Menlo Park School Board rejects bid to create a Mandarin immersion charter school

    By Rhea Mahbubani

    Daily News Staff Writer

    POSTED:   11/14/2014 05:58:58 AM PST1 COMMENT
    UPDATED:   11/14/2014 05:59:36 AM PST

    The Menlo Park City School Board this week unanimously rejected a petition to establish a charter school where the core curriculum would be taught in Mandarin.

    In its decision Wednesday night, the school board cited the findings in a 56-page report that concluded the proposed Menlo Mandarin Immersion Charter School “does not appear to be demonstrably likely to succeed.”

    The report, released Sunday by a group of Menlo Park City School District administrators and consultants, evaluated the charter’s proposed curriculum, governing structure, staffing and finances, among other components.

    District parent Carol Cunningham, who has led the charter school initiative and acted as its spokesperson, said after the meeting that she and the other founders “need to regroup” before deciding what do do next, if anything.

    It can appeal to the San Mateo County Board of Education, and if rejected there could ask the California Department of Education to authorize the school.

    Please read more here.

  • Menlo Park, CA school board votes Thursday on Mandarin immersion school

    Tonight: Board set to vote on Mandarin charter school

    by Barbara Wood / Almanac

    It has been almost two months since a petition to start a Mandarin immersion charter school in the Menlo Park City School District was presented. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the school board will make a decision on whether to authorize the school.

    The board is scheduled to take up the matter starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Encinal School Multi-Use Room at 195 Encinal Ave. in Atherton.

    The proposed Menlo Mandarin Immersion Charter School would begin operations in the fall of 2015 with two classes each of kindergarten and first grade with a total of 100 students.

    Please read more here.

  • Calif. school board report says Mandarin immersion program would fail

    While I can’t vouch for the other issues in the report, saying that it would be too Asian because New York’s immersion programs are too Asian is simply wrong. Most Mandarin immersion programs are predominantly white, not Asian. The issue is more getting Hispanic and African-American students to sign up. New York City’s MI programs are mostly newly-converted from what were bilingual programs, so they were 100% Chinese immigrant students and only began adding non-Chinese speakers recently. 

    Beth

    ===

    Uploaded: Tue, Nov 11, 2014, 10:46 am

    Report says Mandarin charter school not ‘likely to succeed’

    by Barbara Wood / Almanac

    A report prepared to help the Menlo Park City School District board decide if it should allow a Mandarin immersion charter school in the district concludes the petition is flawed and the school is not “likely to succeed.” The board is scheduled to vote on the petition on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m.

    State law limits the grounds on which the board can deny the petition. The 56-page report, prepared by a team of district administrators and consultants, goes through each of the areas in which the board has some leeway when making its decision.

    The report did conclude the petition had gathered enough signatures. The law requires signatures from the parents of at least 50 percent of the 100 students the petition says the school will serve the first year; the parents must be “meaningfully interested” in enrolling their children in the charter school.

    The district contacted each signer. While many did not have appropriately aged children or said they no longer wanted their names on the petition, the district found that 44 in-district and 14 out-of-district parents with children who would be in kindergarten or first grade next year had signed — eight more than the required minimum.

    Please read more here.

  • Redwood City, Calif. approves new Mandarin immersion program

    Redwood City district approves Mandarin immersion program

    Open house for interested parents Tuesday

    by Barbara Wood / Almanac

    As the Menlo Park City School District struggles with a Mandarin immersion charter school proposal by district parents, the Redwood City School District has approved its own Mandarin immersion program, set to start next fall.

    Redwood City district officials say students from the district, which includes parts of Atherton and Woodside as well as Redwood City, will be given first priority, but that out-of-district students will also be accepted as long as classrooms have space for them.

    Please read more here.

  • Menlo Park, CA Mandarin immersion charter gets $375,000

    Feds award $375,000 grant to proposed Mandarin immersion charter in Menlo Park

    By Rhea Mahbubani

    Daily News Staff Writer

    POSTED:   11/07/2014 08:20:10 PM PST0 COMMENTS
    UPDATED:   11/08/2014 12:57:07 AM PST

    The proposed Menlo Mandarin Immersion Charter School has been awarded a $375,000 federal grant for startup costs.

    But for the money to be delivered, a petition to establish the charter must be approved. The charter’s founders are hoping to open two kindergarten and two first grade classes in the Menlo Park City School District by next fall.

    In April, the district turned down their request to launch a Mandarin immersion program at one or more of the existing schools.

    Carol Cunningham, one of the leaders of the charter school effort, said the grant would be spent on one-time startup costs including furniture, curriculum and technological equipment. It cannot go toward operational expenses such as teachers’ salaries or lease payments, she noted.

    The district’s board is scheduled to consider approving or denying the charter petition at its meeting Wednesday.

    Please read more here.

  • Toronto School District Cancels Plans for Confucius Institute

     

    Toronto School District Cancels Plans for Confucius Institute

    By 

     OCTOBER 30, 2014 2:50 AM 12 Comments

    In early 2011, Hu Jintao, left, who was president of China at the time, visited a Confucius Institute at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago. The program has entered partnerships with hundreds of schools and universities around the world.
    In early 2011, Hu Jintao, left, who was president of China at the time, visited a Confucius Institute at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago. The program has entered partnerships with hundreds of schools and universities around the world. Pool photo by Chris Walker

    The Toronto District School Board’s vote to cancel plans for a Confucius Institute marks the latest setback for China’s language- and culture-based soft-power initiative.

    Canada’s largest school district moved on Wednesday to terminate its agreement with the institute, which would have offered after-school Chinese language and culture classes, over concerns about China’s human rights record and restrictions on academic freedom.

    The decision followed months of debate, with groups including Tibetan exiles and members of the Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in China, arguing that the program be stopped on grounds that it would give the Chinese government undue influence over local education. Others, including members of the local Chinese community, argued in favor of the language-learning opportunities the program would have provided and said politics would not play a part.

    Please read more here.

  • How can Mandarin immersion programs recruit and retain African-American students?

    The amazing Jamila Nightingale at Parents of African American Students Studying Chinese, is holding a forum for school administrator on Nov. 13 on how to recruit and retain African-American students in Chinese immersion schools. Make sure your school’s administrators (if they’re anywhere in the Bay area) get there.

    Before the forum, Jamila is having a conference call to hear from parents about these issues, to make sure that their opinions, concerns and voices are included in the information being presented to administrators. Check out the PAASSC web site to get involved in the call on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014.

    And then make sure your school’s administrators get involved.

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