Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • San Francisco’s first Mandarin immersion class graduates

    Mandarin masters: Starr King’s 1st class grows up

    Jill Tucker

    Tuesday, April 17, 2012

    Brant Ward / The Chronicle

    Jack Gaughan is among the first students to have enrolled in the Mandarin immersion program at Starr King Elementary in San Francisco. Of the original 23 students, 16 remain with nine joining later.

    In the fall of 2006, 23 kindergartners walked into their classroom for the first time at Starr King Elementary in San Francisco where their teacher only spoke Mandarin, a language most of the children had never seen nor heard.

    They were the first batch of students to enroll in the district’s new Mandarin immersion program, one of only a handful across the country offering immersion in this particular language.

    It was a leap of faith for parents. The program, one of a handful of Mandarin programs in the country, lacked materials and teachers, and nationwide there wasn’t a lot of professional experience in teaching one of the most difficult languages to learn.

    Fast-forward nearly six years.

    Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/16/BAM91O1A1S.DTL#ixzz1sJjOtluS

  • Calgary charges $510 for bus to immersion program

    Parents balk at higher fees

    CBE says it must cover shortfall

    BY RICHARD CUTHBERTSON, CALGARY HERALD APRIL 14, 2012
    As the Calgary Board of Education overhauls what it charges for busing and noon supervision, it is facing criticism over which alternative programs it is targeting for significantly higher fees.

    The new schedule released by the board tags parents of a child in elementary school alternative programs with a $510 bill next fall for bus and lunch supervision, a 72 per cent increase.

    The board says it simply costs more to transport kids in these types of programs, which range from French immersion right down to all-boys, because most aren’t going to their local school.

    But the head of one parent group questions why some popular programs like French immersion will be forced to pay the same fees as far more unusual offerings that are likely much more expensive.

    Read more:http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Parents+balk+higher+fees/6459358/story.html#ixzz1sJiRJGFn

  • New book on Chinese in elementary school available online

    Chinese Language Learning in the Early Grades

    (Image courtesy: Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School)

    (Image courtesy: Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School)

    New York, April 12, 2012—Asia Society today released a new book (available as afree download): Chinese Language Learning in the Early Grades, a handbook of resources and best practices for Mandarin immersion.

    Chinese immersion programs are among the fastest-growing areas of language education in American schools. Research shows that immersion is an especially effective method for language acquisition: they result in high levels of proficiency at relatively low cost. Immersion students gain proficiency in a new language without any detriment to progress in their native language or to subject matter

    Please read more here.

  • Spots still open in Pasadena Mandarin immersion

    Late Applications for PUSD Open Enrollment Being Accepted

    There are a few spots left in the Mandarin and Spanish dual-language immersion programs and some College and Career Pathways programs.

    The Pasadena Unified School District opens its late application period for open enrollment tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. It will run weekdays until April 17 from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

    Parents or legal guardians must deliver their applications in person at the District Office, 351 S Hudson Ave. in Pasadena. Entry will be allowed at the Del Mar St. entrance. Applications must be completed in the office, online.

    Please read more here.

  • Grand Rapids Township, Mich. starts sister city relationship with Beijing

    GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, MI – Third-graders enrolled in the Chinese Immersion Program at Meadow Brook Elementary today engaged in a conversation in Mandarin Chinese with the principal of their sister school in Beijing, China.

    “I am looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship between our two schools,” said Weidong Liang, principal of Yihai Campus of theBeijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School, during an assembly in which he and Meadow Brook principal Tim Shaw signed the agreements launching the partnership.

    Please read more here.

  • Immersion maybe needed in failing schools but not successful ones

    Gov. Chris Christie talks school reform: A Q&A

    Published: Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 7:09 AM
    chris-christie-education-reformStar-Ledger file photoGov. Chris Christie speaks with Star-Ledger editorial page editor Tom Moran about education reform in New Jersey.

    If you judge by average tests scores, New Jersey has one of the nation’s best public education systems. But if you zero in on the failing urban districts, the need for reform is compelling.

    That’s going to create spark in the next few months in Trenton, as the Democratic Legislature considers Gov. Chris Christie’s reform plan.

    Christie discussed it last week with Star-Ledger Editorial Page Editor Tom Moran. An edited transcript appears below.

    (Note: The Opportunity Scholarship Act, referred to below, would provide vouchers for students in some failing districts to attend private schools, even those with religious affiliations.)

    Q. Do you think education reform is the most important fight of the coming year?

    A. Probably.

    Please read more here.

  • Immersion teachers hard to find.

    Calgary school board recruiters head to Spain on hiring spree

    French, Spanish and Mandarin teachers in demand

    BY RICHARD CUTHBERTSON, CALGARY HERALD APRIL 9, 2012

     

    University of Calgary Education student Gabrielle Lyons will finish her French immersion teaching degree in the coming weeks at the University of Calgary. She has already secured a job teaching in Jasper.


    CALGARY — In a couple weeks, two recruiters from the city’s public school board will fly to Madrid, on the tab of the Spanish government, where they hope to hand-pick 20 teachers to work in Calgary’s bilingual program.

    A cross-Atlantic trip is an extraordinary measure to find fresh blood. But it shows the increasing reach of aggressive recruitment efforts taken by Alberta school boards facing a dearth of locally grown teachers who can instruct in a second language.

    With Alberta universities unable to graduate enough to fill demand, French immersion, Spanish bilingual and Mandarin speakers have become a hot commodity.

    Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Calgary+school+board+recruiters+head+Spain+hiring+spree/6428751/story.html#ixzz1sJfQMD00