Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

recent posts

about

  • New Jersey’s Bilingual Buds gets new director

    Bilingual Buds names Director for NJ campus; announces expansion plans to Grade 5

    Bilingual Buds

    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 • 3:06pm

    Bilingual Buds, a preschool/primary school on the forefront of immersion education, has named Renee Reyes to head its Summit, NJ campus. The school, known for its pioneering approach to academics in an immersion setting, will grow to Grade 5 under her leadership.

    “It is thrilling to be part of a successful school where learning is ignited,” said Ms. Reyes. “Students as young as 2 ½ speak proficiently and effortlessly in the target language. The immersion environment, which includes instruction in English and Spanish or Mandarin Chinese, adds a remarkable dimension to what takes place in the classrooms, and throughout the school.”

    Ms. Reyes has over 20 years’ experience in the field of education, working with students from preschool through Grade 8. Most recently Ms. Reyes served as interim Principal in the District of Columbia public school system, and as Lower School Director at Kingsbury Day School, a nationally recognized private school in Washington, D.C. In addition to both administration and teaching positions, her background includes serving as Director of two educational programs operated by the Commonweal Foundation, and working for the Maryland State Department of Education as an education specialist. She brings a wealth of experience to mentoring and training teachers, partnering with parents, and meeting students’ diverse needs. Ms. Reyes holds a M.Ed from Goucher College.

    Please read more here.

  • Minn. immersion program wins award

    Lakes International earns top state education award

    ‘Promising practices’ award

    Lakes International Language Academy, a K-6 language immersion charter school and International Baccalaureate World School in Forest Lake, was honored on Thursday, May 17 with a Minnesota Promising Practices in Character Education Award at the State Capitol in St. Paul.

    During the ceremony for the eight state-level winners, LILA learned that its Promising Practice with the Minnesota Twins Emerging Markets Department was also selected for a national character award.

    LILA received the 2012 Promising Practices Award for outstanding work in character education last week. Pictured left to right front are: LILA Twins Partnership Liaison Tracy Nelson Maurer, Twins Emerging Markets Department member Lydia Rivera, LILA CFO Julie Lundgren and LILA Foundation Chair Melissa Martyr-Wagner. Left to right in back: Sen. Ray Vandeveer, Twins Emerging Markets Director Miguel Ramos, LILA Director Cam Hedlund, Rep. Robert Dettmer, LILA School Board Director Jeff Moore, Ramsey County Sheriff and Citizens for an Ethical Minnesota Steering Committee member Matt Bostrom, and Wanda Summers Wall, director of the Synergy and Leadership Exchange. (Photo submitted)

    The Minnesota Department of Education and Synergy and Leadership Exchange, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the development of ethical citizens in Minnesota, recognize schools and districts that excel in exemplifying one or more of the 11 principles of character education as defined by the Character Education Partnership, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Successful nominees also demonstrate outstanding character education initiatives that yield positive results in student behavior, school climate and academic performance.

    Please read more here.

  • LA Catholic school switched to immersion model

    Alhambra’s All Souls School to offer dual language immersion

    ByLauren Gold, SGVN
    twitter.com/laurenkgold
    Posted:   05/24/2012 04:33:36 PM PDT

     

    All Souls School principal Anne Bouvet meets with parents and expains the school’s curriculum, during an open house at All Souls School in Alhambra, Sunday, May 20, 2012. (Correspondent Photo by James Carbone)

    ALHAMBRA – The historic All Souls School is getting a makeover this year, opening the first dual language immersion program in the Los Angeles Archdiocese.The school first opened as a traditional K-8 private Catholic school 90 years ago, but closed its doors in 2010 due to low enrollment and budget problems. The school is making a comeback this fall with a new program offering dual language immersion in Spanish and Mandarin.

    Head of Schools Anne Bouvet said this new program is an ideal way for the school to make a comeback.

    “Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, we are reinventing the Catholic school education,” Bouvet said.

    The school will start this year with kindergarten and first grade and plans to expand by one grade each year to eventually offer pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

    Once open, the school will be the first Catholic school in the nation to offer two languages simultaneously, Bouvet said. Though there are about seven other Catholic immersion schools in the nation, she said All Souls is a pioneer program in its area.

    Read more:http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_20704413/alhambras-all-souls-school-offer-dual-language-immersion#ixzz1wywU5uBR

  • The Benefits of Bilingualism

    SPEAKING two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.

    This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development.

    Please read more here.

  • Dual-language programs popular in California

    By Eleanor Yang Su

    At Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School, students are taught lessons every week in a combination of Spanish, English and Mandarin. The public school, which has more than 400 students on its wait list, is hoping to eventually add a fourth language, the principal says, to better prepare pupils for the global economy.

    “I think as we become more and more globally aware, we’re realizing that kids need to be prepared to be competitive in world markets,” said Principal Jorge Ramirez. “Kids need to be multilingual and multiliterate.”

    From Chula Vista to Laguna Niguel and Sacramento, public schools are creating dual-language immersion programs at a fast pace. The California Department of Education estimates there are 318 bilingual immersion programs in the state, up from 201 in 2006.

    Please read more here.

  • How other programs do it: A visit from the French Ministry of Education

    LAFAYETTE — Fifty-eight Paul Breaux Middle School students received special diplomas from the French Ministry of Education on Monday, recognizing their proficiency in writing, speaking, listening and reading in the French language.

    “It shows that they have the competencies we have as French speakers,” said Philippe Aldon, attaché of the Cooperation and Cultural Service for the consulate general of France in New Orleans. “It gives value to what they have learned, what they are. It shows that school can enable you to receive fluency in a foreign language.”

    For the students, the recognition comes after nine years of French immersion studies in the Lafayette Parish school system. A total of 62 eighth-graders completed French immersion studies and were recognized during a graduation ceremony Monday at the Vermilion Conference Center.

    Please read more here.

  • Lake Oswego, Ore. commits to Spanish but Mandarin failed

    The Lake Oswego School Board appears ready to commit to an elementary school language immersion program that continues through the fifth grade.

    The district currently offers pre-K and kindergarten language immersion classes in Spanish, and last month agreed to offer 28 spots each for new first and second grade Spanish language immersion classes next year.
    Please read more here.

    The majority of the board on Monday leaned toward supporting the expansion of their  Spanish language immersion program to fifth grade by 2015 by adding one grade each year. A vote on the commitment to further expansion will likely come before the board June 4.

    Board members said they were eager to further prop up the increasingly popular Spanish language program, which includes instruction in both English and a foreign language. They said they also hoped to quell concerns of the language immersion supporters, many of whom attend meeting after meeting to advocate for the cause.

    “I believe in giving parents certainty,” said board member Patti Zebrowski.