The Eugene 4J School District is starting a Mandarin Chinese immersion program next fall. Enrollment is by lottery. There’s a parent information session Monday evening. (2/13)
The district already has immersion programs in Spanish, French and Japanese. 4J spokeswoman Kerry Delf says there is high demand for a Chinese immersion program.
“Families who want their students to learn Chinese or families whose students already speak Chinese and would like to retain those language capabilities while also learning in English.” Delf says, “Now, this is a program where students will learn in both English and Chinese through the day but the goal is to have them develop strong language capabilities and strong abilities in both languages and to eventually graduate from high school with a seal of bi-literacy.”
Delf says the program will be at Crest Elementary in the Churchill area. It will start by enrolling kindergarten and first-graders. Eventually, the program will be in place at Kennedy Middle and Churchill High.
The info night about the new Chinese immersion program is Monday (2/13) at 5:30 p.m. at the 4J Education Center in Eugene.