Denver students embrace new languages in immersive education experience
Denver Language School boosts bilingualism by immersing students in Spanish or Mandarin.
9News: Byron Reed April 21, 2025
DENVER — Denver Language School, a K-8 charter school within Denver Public Schools, is providing students with full immersion education in Spanish or Mandarin Chinese, helping create bilingual global citizens from a young age.
The school, which has grown from about 700 students to over 900, teaches approximately 90% of the school day in the target language, allowing students to develop proficiency without relying on translation.
“We do math, also, we do science. We do social studies. We are talking about geography,” said Valeria Minoli, kindergarten immersion Spanish teacher. “Many subjects are only in Spanish.”
Students begin in kindergarten learning either Spanish or Mandarin and continue that language track through eighth grade. The school is adding French to its middle school program next year through a partnership with the French American school.
The U.S. government has implemented a $100,000 feet for H-1B visas, which are meant for highly skilled workers coming to the United States. The previous fee was around $7,500.
Will this impact Mandarin immersion programs? Possibly, but it’s not clear how many teachers come in on these visas.
In the past, many districts made use of teachers from China as part of the Hanban teachers program. However most of these programs have now been ended due to concerns over possible influence by the Chinese government on this program and its teachers.
In addition, teachers sent from Hanban (which has been renamed the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, or CLEC) were in the U.S. on J-1 visas, not H-1B visas. J-1 visas are for participants in “cultural exchange programs.”
It appears that most of the teachers in the U.S. using H-1B visas are more often teaching math and science, though there are very likely quite a few immersion teachers as well – but how many is difficult to know.
The National Education Association estimates that “over 500 public K-12 school districts in the United States collectively employ over 2,300 H-1B visa holders.”
If your district relies on H1-B visa holders to staff Mandarin immersion programs, feel free to reach out to me and I can write about how it’s impacting programs.
Some stories about the program and how it’s impacting schools:
A lawsuit filed by schools includes this immersion program:
“For instance, plaintiff Global Village Academy Collaborative — a public nonprofit that oversees a language immersion charter school network in Colorado — said it cannot afford the up to $500,000 the new policy would cost to hire world language teachers for the 2026-27 school year.”
“In 2014, Telluride kindergarteners began their school careers learning in both English and Spanish through a two-way dual language immersion program.
The goal? To make all students bilingual, biliterate and bicultural, and “close achievement gaps, help our native Spanish speakers, and really help build a multicultural worldview for our native English speakers,” said Superintendent John Pandolfo.
The program depends on H-1B teachers from Spain, Mexico, Colombia and other countries. This year, Telluride has 12 H-1B teachers. That first cohort of kindergarteners is now in 11th grade.”
Tim Hurley was part of the beginning cohorts of students in our Mandarin immersion program in San Francisco. For years he ran a really great bicycle camp for kids and of course he’s been to China with families from Starr King Elementary and other schools. So he’s a great guy to organize this. They’ve got Mandarin immersion teachers coming along to help facilitate actual Chinese use along the way. I don’t do much advertising on this blog, but for Tim I’ll make an exception because I know he’s creating exactly the kind of trip our families got to take when our kids were young. The photos are from the trip our youngest daughter’s class took to China.
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Mandarin Immersion family trips to China
Gather your family! Gather your friends and classmates! Enhance your child’s Mandarin Immersion education with hands-on learning at the source: China. Two Mandarin Immersion oriented travel opportunities have been planed for the MI community, scheduled for 6 – 19 June 2026 (rescheduling to 13 – 26 June may be possible to accommodate later school schedules). Details are available and reservations are being accepted through 15 Dec. Space is limited, but the fun and adventure are not.
Ancient Capitals of China This is the perfect introductory trip to the country and culture of China. This trip will explore past and present political and cultural capitals of the country, from Beijing to Datong to Pingyao to Xi’an. Not to be missed highlights include Bejing’s historic Forbidden City, two contrasting areas of the Great Wall, the stunning Yungang Grottoes of Shanxi, and the Terracotta Warriors and ancient city wall of Xi’an. This trip is perfect for first-time China travelers and families with younger kids (rising 4th grade and younger), though any experience level and age is welcome.
Great Wall and Hexi Corridor Dive into Chinese history with an exploration of the Great Wall and a stretch of the Silk Road. With hikes on both restored and “wild” segments of the Wall, and a travel route that parallels the westward reach of the Wall to its terminus at Jiayuguan Fortress, this trip will reveal the many characters of the Great Wall and the regions it protected. From cultural icons to natural wonders, this itinerary explores the impact of the desert and loess plateau on the history and development of China, and beyond. This trip includes longer travel, less developed destinations, and physical activity, and may be better for experienced China travelers and those with older kids (rising 5th grade and above).
The two trips will run simultaneously and overlap in Xi’an to ensure opportunities for sharing stories and meeting up with friends. It is intended that a MI teacher will accompany both trips to assist with language skills practice and cultural instruction. Scheduled and spontaneous opportunities for engaging in language and cultural exchanges with native Mandarin speakers are embedded in both itineraries. In-country travel will include high speed rail, tour bus, and airplane. Hotel accommodations will be four star. Opportunities for free time and independent exploration are included and encouraged.
These trips were organized by Access Asia Tours, a travel company specializing in Asian tourism and bespoke itinerary planning. Tim Hurley, a San Francisco-based former MI parent, designed the itineraries and will serve as on-trip liaison. Tim has traveled to China on numerous occasions, as a student, professional, MI parent, and adoptive parent. His family was part of the pioneering San Francisco public school MI cohort, with two daughters leading the way through the elementary-middle-high school pathway.
No English allowed: Inside Honolulu’s bold new classrooms
Story by Sandy Harjo Livingston
HONOLULU (KHON2) — In classrooms across Honolulu, bilingual education is reshaping how students learn, connect and see the world.
At Kamehameha Schools, Maryknoll School and St. Louis School, language is more than a subject. It’s a tool for global citizenship and cultural understanding.
Mandarin immersion takes root at Maryknoll
Maryknoll School launched its Mandarin immersion program nine years ago. For Shana Tong, president of Maryknoll, it was a natural extension of the school’s global mission.
“Our first class, the current 8th grade, started in kindergarten,” Tong said. “You spend 50% of your day in only Mandarin. They don’t even know their teacher speaks English.”
The program follows a 50/50 model in the early grades. Students learn core subjects like math and science in Mandarin, then switch to English for literacy and religion.
The Mandarin immersion program at the school is also expanding, from one class per grade up to three per grade, beginning with its transitional Kindergarten next year.
Orion Alternative School in Redwood City recently garnered top honors for its programs, particularly the popular Mandarin-language immersion offering.
Orion nabbed a gold award from Bay Area Parent magazine for being among the best public or charter schools on the Peninsula for 2025. The award noted that Orion houses the Mandarin Immersion program for elementary students.
The magazine also listed Orion MI itself as taking gold this year for being among the best language-immersion schools in the region.
Note that San Francisco Unified says it’s going to create its own K-8 Mandarin immersion school, which parents have long advocated for. Read about that here.
San Francisco Chronicle, 8-26-2025
The San Francisco school board Tuesday unanimously rejected a parent-led effort to open a Mandarin immersion charter school in the city, angering families tired of waiting for the district to meet the demand for Chinese language programs.
The petition for the Dragon Gate Academy, according to district staff, failed to adhere to legal standards outlined by federal and state laws relating to qualified teachers and raised questions about how the school would address the needs of English learners and students with special needs.
In addition, district officials said the charter would have a negative financial and educational impact on city schools, siphoning students and state funding when the district is at risk of fiscal insolvency, which is a reason cited under state law to deny the charter.
San Francisco’s school board unanimously rejected a petition on Tuesday to open a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade Mandarin Immersion school in the city next fall, citing concerns with the parent-led effort’s educational model and the new school’s financial impact on the cash-strapped district.
After two hours of debate, the board voted 7-0 to deny the charter, following the recommendation of San Francisco Unified School District staff, which said they didn’t believe the plan was “workable.”
In addition to concerns about the educational model and feasibility of the plan, staff also wrote in a report earlier this month that the school could siphon away funding the district can’t stand to lose.
The Verona Area International School (VAIS) was recently named #7 in Wisconsin Elementary Schools and #2 in Wisconsin Charter Elementary Schools for 2025 by U.S. News & World Report.
VAIS is a public, tuition-free charter school founded in 2010 as a Chinese immersion school. Located at 400 N. Main St. in Verona, VAIS is part of the Verona Area School District (VASD) and serves approximately 120 kindergarten through fifth-grade students.
Mandarin Immersion Parents Council 