Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • How Learning Mandarin Is Changing The Hearts, Minds, And Brains Of Kids

    How Learning Mandarin Is Changing The Hearts, Minds, And Brains Of Kids

    Will we all be speaking Mandarin by 2050?

    By Peter Willhoite

    Rena was six when she first started at Yu Ming Charter School in Oakland. She knew only a few words of Mandarin. “I thought it was weird that they [the teachers] were talking and I didn’t really understand,” she says. “I didn’t realize that it would sound so different and look so different. A lot of times, other kids would translate for me.” Now, in fifth grade, Rena’s Mandarin is crisp and clean.

    Rena is having a sleepover at Rosa and Sonia’s house in the Berkeley Hills, all dark wood and sweeping vistas. You can see the Marin Headlands and the San Francisco skyline. The girls all attend Yu Ming together — Rosa is in fifth grade, like Rena, and Sonia is in third. Their parents, Cynthia Li and David Hochschild, are actually longtime friends of my wife’s. They’ve invited me over so I can learn more about immersion schools for a piece I’m writing. (Full disclosure: I also have a slightly personal interest. My wife is Chinese, and as we prepare to start a family of our own, this kind of thing is on our minds.)

    Please read more here.

  • Providence schools to expand Spanish, Chinese language immersion programs

    By Linda Borg

    • Journal Staff Writer

      Posted Dec. 10, 2015 at 11:04 AM

      PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Providence schools will offer two Spanish-English and Mandarin Chinese-English immersion programs (pending sufficient demand) at the Carl Lauro Elementary School in the 2016-2017 school year.

      This will expand the dual language immersion program at the Leviton Dual Language School.

      In dual language immersion, students starting in kindergarten receive instruction in two languages so they can become fluent and read in both languages by the time they finish 5th grade.

      “In an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, being able to understand, speak, read and write in a second language is a critical 21st century skill,” said Providence Schools Supt. Christopher Maher. “That’s why we are thrilled to be expanding our dual language immersion offerings to Carl Lauro Elementary, and encourage parents enrolling their kindergartners for next school year to apply for this great program.”

      Please read more here.

  • Deleware, which has statewide immersion, sending more kids to China

     

    DECEMBER 3, 2015

    Delaware to grow Chinese study abroad program

    Governor Jack Markell (left) and Wanxiang Project Manager Daniel Li sign a memorandum of understanding to expand the company-sponsored study abroad program. (Avi Wolfman-Arent, NewsWorks/WHYY)
    Governor Jack Markell (left) and Wanxiang Project Manager Daniel Li sign a memorandum of understanding to expand the company-sponsored study abroad program. (Avi Wolfman-Arent, NewsWorks/WHYY)
    Delaware will send up to 30 high school students to China each of the next two summers, thanks to money from a Chinese business with local connections.Wanxiang, China’s largest auto parts manufacturer, pledged $675,000 to fund the study abroad program through 2017. This past summer, Wanxiang paid for 20 high school students to spend four weeks at the company’s facility in Hangzhou, China. Thursday’s announcement deepens the company’s commitment.

    And that’s not Wanxiang’s only connection to the First State. In 2014, the company purchased a shuttered auto plant in New Castle County.

    “I am grateful to Wanxiang and [China General Chamber of Commerce] for their partnership and for their commitment to Delaware’s efforts to increase innovative language learning opportunities and make ours the most bilingual state,” Gov. Jack Markell said in a statement.

    Please read more here.

  • School board unanimously renews Oakland, CA Mandarin immersion charter

    Alameda County Renews Yu Ming Charter

    POSTED BY  ON DEC 9, 2015 | 0 COMMENTS

    Alameda County Renews Yu Ming Charter

    December 9, 2015

    Hayward – Trustees of the Alameda County Board of Education voted unanimously to renew the charter for Yu Ming Charter School Tuesday night, drawing cheers from the roomful of parents, teachers and staff members in attendance.

    The renewal decision comes fives years after Yu Ming received unanimous approval from Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) for the school’s original charter submission, setting in motion the establishment of the first public Mandarin immersion K-8 school in the East Bay.

    Representing Yu Ming at the Dec. 8 meeting were Rodrigo Prudencio, Yu Ming board chair; Gloria Lee, a Yu Ming founder and lead author of the school’s charter petition; Sue Park, head of school; and Jamila Dugan, assistant principal.

    As is the usual practice, the charter approval is subject to finalizing a new Memorandum of Understanding between Yu Ming and Alameda County. One key focus will be to demonstrate progress on Yu Ming’s efforts to increase the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the students served. School representatives detailed past and current efforts in this area, including targeted outreach at Head Start preschools and weighted lottery preferences for residents living near Yu Ming.

    Please read more here.

  • In Utah, immersion schools an issue when school boundaries redrawn

    Mona Andrus pauses before voting to approve the first reading of proposed school boundary changes, during a Davis School Board meeting held on Dec. 1, in the district offices in Farmington. Board President Gordon Eckersley, right, voted against approval.

    Image by: Becky Wright

    Mona Andrus pauses before voting to approve the first reading of proposed school boundary changes, during a Davis School Board meeting held on Dec. 1, in the district offices in Farmington. Board President Gordon Eckersley, right, voted against approval.

    FARMINGTON — Davis School Board President Gordon Eckersley said no matter what decision is made on proposed school boundary changes, some people will be disappointed.

    “We hope that once it’s determined, and you can see that most people will benefit from what we choose to do, we do hope that you will support us in that,” he said in a public hearing Tuesday, Dec. 1.

    Eckersley ended the meeting admitting he was concerned enough not to support the current proposal on its first reading. In spite of his “nay” vote, the motion did carry, but things are far from settled.

    “In the next few weeks ahead there will still be room for discussion and change,” Eckersley said, stressing that boundary decisions are not set in stone by accepting a proposal on its first reading.

    Please read more here.

  • Houston’s 100+ magnet schools (including immersion) are so popular the district offers tips on how to get in

    HISD official offers tips on applying to magnet schools

    By Ericka Mellon

    December 1, 2015 Updated: December 1, 2015 2:25pm

    HISD Superintendent Terry Grier talked with a student during a May 2015 visit to the Mandarin Chinese Immersion School, one of the newest magnet schools in the district. Applications far exceeded available seats last year. Photo: Todd Spoth, For The Houston Chronicle / © TODD SPOTH PHOTOGRAPHY, LLC

    Photo: Todd Spoth, For The Houston Chronicle

    HISD Superintendent Terry Grier talked with a student during a May 2015 visit to the Mandarin Chinese Immersion School, one of the newest magnet schools in the district. Applications far exceeded available seats last year.

    The holiday season is fast approaching, and that means another, perhaps more stressful, deadline looms. The first round of applications is due Dec. 18 for parents who want to send their children to magnet programs in the Houston Independent School District.

    HISD has more than 100 magnet programs with various specialties, including fine arts; science, technology, engineering and math; gifted education; and language immersion. Mark Shenker, the district’s assistant superintendent of school choice, spoke with Houston Chronicle education reporter Ericka Mellon on Tuesday about some changes this year.

    Please read more here.

  • Mandarin immersion at a British school in Singapore

    From 800 last year, it now has 1,300 students; expects 200 more by August

    Sandra Davie
    Senior Education Correspondent

    It is not just local parents. Expatriate parents recognise the value of mastering Mandarin, too.

    The emphasis on Mandarin is one of the reasons why Dulwich College, a renowned British Independent school, which started with 800 students in Singapore last year, has grown its intake to 1,300 now. It expects to add another 200 students by next August.

    In the college’s dual-language approach, children from the ages of two to seven are taught by two teachers, in English and Mandarin. The idea is to expose children to both from a young age, enabling them to move seamlessly between languages. In the junior school, until age 11, they have daily Mandarin classes.

    Please read more here.