Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • A Request from Tammy Radmer, SFAME

    From Tammy Radmer,

    SF/Advocates for Multilingual Excellence, Monroe Elementary and James Lick Middle School Spanish Immersion Parent

    To my listservs & blind carbon copied folks,

    Okay, I know some of you are flinching at the thought of yet another evening meeting, and have no tolerance for another dry presentation on the merits of immersion, but you have to go to this one! I’ve seen perfectly sane SFUSD district staff & teachers practically melt as they discuss Dr. Myriam Met.  They froth at the mouth as they discuss her interactive style of presenting, & expound on the fact that she knows everything there is to know about immersion.

    I can only imagine that the evening would be of interest to everybody, but especially to principals, teachers, & staff, as well as parents with kids already in immersion, or prospective parents & community members wanting to learn more about it (please forward this email to whomever you think might be interested). before i go furthur, i want to acknowledge Elizabeth Weise (Mandarin Immersion Parents Council, SF/AME, & Starr King parent), and Margaret Peterson and Maria Martinez (SFUSD’s Multilingual Education/World Language Department) for helping make this happen.  Sorry if I left someone out.

    We’re at an important crossroads, right now, with the new SFUSD administration mapping out their strategies for improving & expanding language programs throughout san francisco.  I encourage parents, principals, & staff to continually learn more about language programs such as immersion (as well as biliteracy programs for english learners & FLES programs for target language learners), & to be sure their opinions are heard as the district creates & rolls out it’s plans. the more information we have, the better we can advocate for whatever it is that we believe in.

    -Tammy

  • Immersion Night with Dr. Met

    Monday, March 16, 2009 – 6:00-7:30pm James Lick Middle School

    1220 Noe Street, 25th Street and Noe Street

    An interactive and inspirational evening with Dr. Myriam Met

    Dr. Myriam Met, an international speaker and educator, is a renowned expert on foreign language programs with an emphasis on immersion programs.

    • How fluent do students become?
    • Does a second language come at a cost?
    • How do programs in other states compare with SFUSD immersion programs?
    • What can parents do to support their children in immersion?

    These questions and more will be addressed by Dr. Met at an exclusive Immersion Night for SFUSD parents and teachers.

    Sponsored by:
    sfusdlogo

    The SFUSD Multilingual Education Program

    Also sponsored by the SF Advocates for Multilingual Excellence and the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council.

    Funded by a generous grant from the Mayor’s Office
    For childcare call 241-6053 or email miparentscouncil@gmail.com

    NOTE: LIMITED CHILDCARE SPACE  AVAILABLE. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED

    Dr. Myriam Met

    miriammet

    Dr. Myriam Met is the former Director and Senior Researcher of the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. Her previous positions include supervisor of foreign language programs and bilingual education for major urban school districts, including responsibility for designing, implementing, and supervising a variety of immersion program models.

  • Public Schools Outperform Private in Math

    ScienceDaily (Mar. 3, 2009)  In another “Freakonomics”-style study that turns conventional wisdom about public- versus private-school education on its head, a team of University of Illinois education professors has found that public-school students outperform their private-school classmates on standardized math tests, thanks to two key factors: certified math teachers, and a modern, reform-oriented math curriculum.

  • MIPC Meeting Notes

    Items discussed at the meeting of February 20, 2009

    1) We have a website: Miparentscouncil.org
    2) Summer Camps offering Mandarin
    3) Mandarin Immersion Parents Council committees
    4) CAIS Chinese Education Conference March 13th- 15th
    5) Next Meeting: An evening with Mimi Met, March 16th , time and location TBD
    6) Summer trips to China

    Website

    We have a website: miparentscouncil.org

    The website serves as an online platform for marketing the Mandarin Immersion Programs at Starr King and Jose Ortega. Additionally, it organizes in one place a lot of information including: links and descriptions of Summer Camps offering Mandarin; video of Starr King & Jose Ortega in the Chinese New Year’s parade; descriptions and information on the committees of the Mandarin Immersions Parents Council, etc.

    Summer Camps offering Mandarin

    More  information can be found at…

    https://miparentscouncil.org/summer-camps/

    Some parents shared their experiences with summer camps that offer Mandarin. We spent time discussing two camps that are offering camps this summer: Play and Learn and CAIS (Chinese American International School).

    Mandarin Play and Learn is organized by Carol Lei, who played a very significant role in launching the Mandarin Immersion Programs at Starr King and Jose Ortega. The details on the camp are available online at http://www.mandarinplaylearn.com/summer_camp_09

    CAIS (Chinese American International School) is offering two, four-week sessions. CAIS is considering a special program for SFUSD Mandarin immersion students. They are seeking a grant that would help fund the special program and need to know how much demand there is for a special program. The details on the camp are available online at

    http://www.cais.org/en/auxiliary/mandarin-camp/summer2009

     

    Mandarin Immersion Parents Council committees

    Marketing

    Scott Olson is the chairperson. He created the website Miparentscouncil.org and is looking for content for the website. Scott and Chris Chang are working on getting the website translated in to Chinese.

    Teacher Recruitment & Retention

    Monika Liston Jo is the chairperson. She described some of the historical challenges in hiring Mandarin speaking teachers in the SFUSD. Additionally, she shared that a Chinese Learning Specialist is scheduled to start as an aide to both Starr King and Jose Ortega. The specialist will spend 3 days/week at Starr King and 2 days/week at Jose Ortega.

    Middle School

    This committee needs a chairperson. If you want to lead this important committee, please contact Beth Weise or Scott Olson. Several people have indicated an interest to help on this committee, but we need someone to be chairperson.

    CAIS Chinese Education Conference March 13th- 15th

    CAIS is hosting the Chinese Education Conference in San Francisco. This is the largest K-16 national conference dedicated to promoting Chinese education in the United States. On Saturday evening, there is a networking reception with teachers and administrators. If you are interested in attending, contact Kellyn as she may be able to get you a ticket.

    Next Meeting: An evening with Mimi Met, March 16th

    Dr. Myriam Met is Acting Director of the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. Plans are not yet finalized, but the thought is that she will be giving a talk on foreign language education. This meeting will be for all of SFUSD participants and not just Mandarin Immersion. Location and time are TBD.

    Summer trips to China

    Kellyn Dong described two separate trips that are being organized for traveling to China this summer. One trip is for three weeks, with two weeks being spent in Wuhan. The second trip is being organized as a two-week trip for families with adopted children. If you are interested, please feel free to contact Kellyn for details.

  • Meet the Starr King Mandarin Immersion Teachers

    Christopher Rosenberg, Aka Principal Rosenberg

    Chris Rosenberg
    Chris Rosenberg

    Mr. Rosenberg was a teacher at Starr King for eight years before becoming its principal five years ago, in 2003. He speaks English and Spanish and has learned to sing Happy Birthday in Chinese. He ably guides Starr King’s four strands — English, Spanish bilingual, Mandarin immersion and Special Education.
    “I like helping kids construct meaning.”

    Li Berkley, Aka Cong Laoshi

    Li Berkeley
    Li Berkeley

    Kindergarten teacher, Room 107 substitute while Ms. Chang is on maternity leave this spring.

    Ms. Berkley is originally from Beijing, China. She taught at elementary schools in China and was a professor of Chinese and English at the North China Coal Mining Medical College. She has taught in the San Francisco Bay area for five years, most recently in the Vallejo Unified School District. She will be filling in for Ms. Chang in Room 207 during Ms. Chang’s maternity leave.

    Esther Chau, Aka Zhou Laoshi

    Esther Chau
    Esther Chau

    Second grade, Room 211
    Ms. Chau is from Taipei in Taiwan. She has been a teacher for 12 years. She has taught in both private and public high schools, as well as teaching at two charter schools in the Bay area. In addition, she owned a learning center that offered science, math, art and Mandarin enrichment. This is her first year at Starr King.
    “Teaching really fulfills me. I can use it to help kids, especially because Mandarin is difficult so learning it is a big accomplishment. I take education very seriously. I have a passion for education and teaching, as a way to reach out to many children.”
    “I love children. I’d like to touch their lives, It’s a chance to touch the future.”

    Sandy Sung, Aka Sung Laoshi

    Sandy Sung
    Sandy Sung

    Room 109, Starr King 1st grade teacher
    Ms. Sung is from Taipei, Taiwan. She came to the United States 15 years ago and taught in Los Angeles before coming to Starr King as a Mandarin immersion teacher in 2007. She has been a teacher for seven years, teaching both Chinese and piano. In Los Angeles she taught at Hacienda La Puerta school.
    “Teaching is so wonderful because you help the children and you get to . see the light bulb turn on in their head! And we learn so much from each other every day.”

    Ina To, Aka To Laoshi

    Ina To
    Ina To

    Room 105
    Ms. To is originally from Hong Kong. She has been in the United States for 18 years, 13 as an elementary school teacher. She went to college and got her teaching certificate in New York City and then came to the Bay area.
    “Children are so open-hearted!” she says of her students.

    Helen Tong, Aka Tong Laoshi

    Helen Tong
    Helen Tong

    Room 109
    Ms. Tong is originally from Canton, China. She speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin. This is her fourth year of teaching. Her first year in the San Francisco Unified School District was teaching at Alice Fong Yu Elementary, the Cantonese immersion school. She came to Starr King in 2007.
    She loves teaching “because every day is something new. It’s so fun when the kids are trying to express themselves in Mandarin.

    Angelica Chang aka Chang Laoshi
    Starr King, Kindergarten teacher, Room 107

    Ms. Chang was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She’s been a teacher for ten years, three at Starr King in the Mandarin immersion program. She began by volunteering a San Francisco Saturday Chinese school. She got her teaching credential and B-CLAD four years ago.
    “I like everything about teaching. I was making a big tooth as a prop for class one day and I turned to my husband and I said ‘I can’t believe I’m getting paid for this!’”

  • Chinese Language Bridge Cup – Help from The King

    If your child is participating in the Chinese Language Bridge Cup, then you may know that the required poem for grades K-2 is “The Song of the Traveling Son 游子吟” by Mèng Jiāo 孟郊”.  You can get some tips for reciting this poem from The King…

  • Next Meeting – Friday February 20 at 5:30

    The San Francisco Mandarin Immersion Parents Council will be meeting on Friday, February 20, 2009 from 5:30 to 7:30.

    Where

    Starr King Elementary School

    Bungalow B (in the playground)

    Childcare

    Childcare and dinner for children provided via a generous grant from 
    the Mayor’s Office

    Agenda

    Summer Activities

    How do you keep you kid’s Chinese up over the summer?  We’ll have representatives from at least summer camp programs that  offer Mandarin, including the Chinese American School and Mandarin Play and Learn.

    Chinese Language Conference

    Chinese Language conference being held in SF March 13-15

    Committee Updates

    • Update on the MIPC’s work with the district on teacher hiring
    • Middle school
    • How to get involved in the MIPC

    Advocates for Multilingual Education

    Update on the activities of this group

    Meet and Greet

    We’ll include time  to socialize, we promise!