District to consider Mandarin
District to Consider Mandarin
May 2 meeting to seek community input
By T.S. Mills-Faraudo, STAFF WRITERInside Bay Area
Article Last Updated: 4/19/2006 02:44 AM
SAN MATEO — Foster City resident Gina Kuo takes comfort knowing her 7-year-old son can read and write Mandarin, giving him a connection to his cultural roots.
Now she wants her sister's children, who are of kindergarten age, also to learn Mandarin as their second language while they are still young.
She was thrilled to find out the San Mateo-Foster City School District is considering starting an extensive Mandarin program for preschool and kindergarten students as well as a summer school class.
"I think it's important that our children continue links with the cultural background," said Kuo, whose son is a first-grader at Audubon Elementary in Foster City.
School district officials acknowledge Kuo isn't the only parent in the district wanting more Mandarin programs.
"About 20 percent of our schools' population is Asian, and many of those parents send their children to Mandarin school," said Irving Phillips, director of the school district's magnet program.
Furthermore, College Park Elementary, the district's talented-and-gifted magnet school, has a Mandarin class that has more demand than there is space, Phillips said.
The district will hold a meeting May 2 to solicit community input on this proposal.
The proposed Mandarin preschool would start as early as this fall and would cost parents about $575 per month, Phillips said.
In this class, a considerable amount of time would be spent on teaching kids Mandarin, he said.
The kindergarten, which also would start in the fall, would be like any other class at that level, only at least an hour would be devoted to Mandarin, he said. It would also be funded like a typical kindergarten class with primarily state funds, Phillips said.
The summer school class, which may start this year, would be taught like a foreign language course and also mostly would be paid for with state funds, he said.
Kuo said having this program in the public schools would make it much more convenient for parents who usually send their kids to local private Chinese schools to learn Mandarin.
Phillips said a growing number of public schools are adding Mandarin to their curriculum.
The May 2 meeting will start at 7 p.m. in College Park School at 715 Indian Ave.
Staff writer T.S. Mills-Faraudo covers education. She can be reached at (650) 348-4338 or tmills@sanmateocountytimes.com.
May 2 meeting to seek community input
By T.S. Mills-Faraudo, STAFF WRITERInside Bay Area
Article Last Updated: 4/19/2006 02:44 AM
SAN MATEO — Foster City resident Gina Kuo takes comfort knowing her 7-year-old son can read and write Mandarin, giving him a connection to his cultural roots.
Now she wants her sister's children, who are of kindergarten age, also to learn Mandarin as their second language while they are still young.
She was thrilled to find out the San Mateo-Foster City School District is considering starting an extensive Mandarin program for preschool and kindergarten students as well as a summer school class.
"I think it's important that our children continue links with the cultural background," said Kuo, whose son is a first-grader at Audubon Elementary in Foster City.
School district officials acknowledge Kuo isn't the only parent in the district wanting more Mandarin programs.
"About 20 percent of our schools' population is Asian, and many of those parents send their children to Mandarin school," said Irving Phillips, director of the school district's magnet program.
Furthermore, College Park Elementary, the district's talented-and-gifted magnet school, has a Mandarin class that has more demand than there is space, Phillips said.
The district will hold a meeting May 2 to solicit community input on this proposal.
The proposed Mandarin preschool would start as early as this fall and would cost parents about $575 per month, Phillips said.
In this class, a considerable amount of time would be spent on teaching kids Mandarin, he said.
The kindergarten, which also would start in the fall, would be like any other class at that level, only at least an hour would be devoted to Mandarin, he said. It would also be funded like a typical kindergarten class with primarily state funds, Phillips said.
The summer school class, which may start this year, would be taught like a foreign language course and also mostly would be paid for with state funds, he said.
Kuo said having this program in the public schools would make it much more convenient for parents who usually send their kids to local private Chinese schools to learn Mandarin.
Phillips said a growing number of public schools are adding Mandarin to their curriculum.
The May 2 meeting will start at 7 p.m. in College Park School at 715 Indian Ave.
Staff writer T.S. Mills-Faraudo covers education. She can be reached at (650) 348-4338 or tmills@sanmateocountytimes.com.
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