Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • Wisconsin to close state’s only Mandarin immersion program

    Keep Chinese immersion school open — Kristopher Schroeder

    I am deeply troubled by the Verona School Board’s proposal to eliminate the Verona Area International School.

     

    This school is an incredible feather in the cap for the district, and it provides tremendous value for the community. Any student can attend, and this school represents a fantastic way for parents to provide language education for their young children at no additional cost.

    Mandarin is spoken by over 1 billion people and is the most widely spoken first language in the world. Many forward-thinking states are pushing for Chinese language education as they see it as a way to improve their chances of increasing business partnerships with Chinese industry.

    Chinese culture is over 5,000 years old and offers a different perspective than our standard euro-centric world view. But the unique character and tonal nature of the Chinese language makes early exposure and immersion incredibly vital to obtain fluency. The Verona School District should continue and increase its efforts to support the International School by renewing its charter for an additional five years. At that time, efforts should be made to reassess the viability and success of this school.

    Please read more here.

  • Delaware district getting to middle school

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    By David Paulk

    Caesar Rodney School District is planning for its Chinese Immersion Program to move into middle school.

    It’s been four years since the first group of kindergarten students enrolled in a course where students learn a foreign language by speaking solely in the chosen tongue.

    Supervisor of Instruction Darren Guido, who oversees the program, said there’s much to be done before the scholars move into middle school in 2018.

    The district, in conjunction with the Delaware Department of Education, is searching for two teachers, for Postlethwait and Fred Fifer middle schools.

    Please read more here.

  • Discount flights to China for students

    From US China Strong, a non-profit:
    The US-China Strong Foundation is a nonprofit organization that seeks to strengthen US-China relations by investing in a new generation of leaders who have the knowledge and skills to engage with China.

    Dear Friends,

    I am thrilled to announce that, through our partnership with United Airlines, American students will now have access to discounted roundtrip travel between the United States and China!

    US-China Strong and United Airlines partner to give American students access to discounted roundtrip travel between the United States and China!

    US-China Strong and United are both committed to ensuring that all Americans, regardless of their financial resources, have the opportunity to study abroad. We often hear stories of young people who are eager to study abroad but can’t afford the airfare. Some study abroad programs have to cut back on the number of scholarships or the amount of financial aid they can offer because airfare is too expensive. By reducing the financial burden of traveling to China, it is our hope that we will see greater diversity in study abroad.

    The US-China relationship is the most important and consequential bilateral relationship in the world. In order to “get it right,” we must ensure we have a next generation of China-savvy leaders who can collaborate and compete with Chinese counterparts. And those leaders must represent the diversity of America, our greatest strength. This investment by United will help us achieve that goal.

    This special offer is available to ANY American student, 24 years or younger, regardless of financial need. Students must have an existing Mileage Plus account or open a new account, where they will also be able to earn mileage towards free airfare in the future. To take advantage of this program, please call US-China Strong’s official travel agent Carroll Travel at (202) 543-8118 or information@travelroom.com. Office hours are Monday-Friday from 9:00am-6:00pm EST. Please include your last name and “US-China Strong” in the subject line. United can connect cities across the U.S. – via many of its U.S. hubs – to Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shanghai year-round and to Xi’an during the summer season. Buy your tickets today and embark on the experience of a lifetime: Study Abroad in China.

    Again, we are deeply grateful to United for offering this unique offer to American students — our future leaders.

    Happy travels!

    Carola McGiffert
    CEO
    The US-China Strong Foundation

  • Mandarin immersion charter opening in West San Jose, Calif.

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    Wei Yu International Charter School is a new Mandarin immersion public charter school opening Fall 2017 with K and 1st classes in West San Jose, CA.

    Please visit their website at http://weiyucharter.org.

    The school will also hold an information on Saturday, Nov. 12. Sign up for info here:

    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1112-wei-yu-info-session-tickets-27334712862

  • Mandarin immersion thriving in Tucson

    Chinese immersion programs aim to give students cultural, academic, job advantages

    • By Gabriella Vukelic For the Arizona Daily Star

    About a dozen kindergartners gathered around tiny tables, each grabbing at crayons, scissors or glue, on a recent Monday morning at Sunrise Drive Elementary School.

    The children were learning how to use the color green in a sentence using those items on a worksheet. Only, they were learning that in Chinese.

    Sunrise Drive Elementary is one of two schools in the Tucson area providing Chinese immersion programs, which educators say are gaining popularity in the Tucson area. Mesquite Elementary in the Vail district is another one.

    Please read more here.

  • Los Angeles has 57 dual-language programs, and more are coming

    Dual language immersion programs will grow at LAUSD with or without Prop. 58

    LA School Report

    The majority of  Vista Del Valle Dual Language Academy students in San Fernando don’t have just one teacher, they have two. And they don’t have just one classroom, they have two, where they spend half their day learning in English and the other half learning in Spanish. It’s all part of the school’s dual language immersion program, one of 75 in LA Unified and part of a growing trend.

    Only two years ago, the district had 57 dual language programs. Twelve were added this year, along with an additional $6 million in budget funds, and the district plans to continue adding more.

    The growth of dual language programs — where students are taught 50 percent of the time in English and 50 percent in a second language in a classroom where roughly half the students are fluent English speakers and half are English learners — is part of shifting attitudes in California and LA Unified about bilingual public education and English-only instruction.

    Please read more here.

  • A proposition in California could affect all immersion

    From LA School Report

    How Prop. 58 could change California classrooms

    View this story in Spanish

    Carolyn Phenicie | October 28, 2016

    Proposition 58 certainly isn’t the highest-profile among the 17 ballot questions facing California voters this fall — those would probably be the proposals to repeal the death penalty or legalize marijuana.

    It isn’t even the newsiest among the education propositions. That’s probably Prop. 55, which would extend a special tax on individual incomes over $250,000, most of it going to the state’s K-12 schools.

    Yet the ballot question could have a huge impact on the state’s more than 1.5 million English-language learners at a time when immigration and the country’s relationship with Mexico have become hot-button topics. The outcome of the potentially pivotal vote is far from clear, despite very lopsided advocate support for the referendum.

    Please read more here.