New Dual Immersion Program for Orange Unified School District

Orange Unified School District will be opening a new dual immersion program next fall; it will be their second one.  The district is one of two school districts in Orange County to offer a Mandarin dual immersion program.  The other dual immersion program is in Laguna Niguel at Bergeson Elementary in the Capistrano Unified School District.  The dual immersion program in Orange Unified now has classes from kindergarten to fourth grade and has plans to expand to high school in the ensuing years.  The school, Fletcher Elementary, follows a 50/50 model of instruction where half of the time is spent learning in Mandarin and the other half of the day is spent in English.

The new dual immersion program will open in 2015-16 at California Elementary School.  The target language for this new program will be Spanish and will follow the 50/50 model where half of the day will be taught in Spanish and the other half will be in English.  The new Spanish Immersion Academy or iInspire Academia will  also be part of an exclusive one to one iPad academy where all students will have access to iPads for enhanced learning of new content in Spanish.  This program also intends to expand to high school.

These two schools accept students residing within and outside the school district boundaries.  Residents from other school districts can apply to enroll their children in either dual immersion program.  The necessary forms will need to be completed at the home school district and with Orange Unified.   For more information, contact the schools for tours and informational meetings that are held during the year.

If you have a child that is not yet attending school, it is best to start researching schools when they are 3 or 4 years old.  Many dual immersion schools and programs have long waitlists and I’m sure this new program will too.  They are already accepting applications for a second kindergarten class.

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Two New Dual Immersion Programs in Newport Mesa Unified School District

Newport Mesa Unified School District will offer two new dual immersion programs for the incoming 2015-16 school year.  College Park Elementary School will offer Mandarin and Whittier Elementary School will offer Spanish.  Both schools are located in Costa Mesa. Enrollment for these two schools are only open to students residing within their school district zone.  Applications are still open until April 15.

Newport Mesa will also launch six new programs for their high school students called their Signature Academies and five of these programs will be open for incoming ninth grade students next year;  the sixth one will start in 2016/17.  All of these new programs will focus on global competitiveness.  Corona Del Mar High School will specifically offer the Academy of Global Studies and Newport Harbor High School will offer the International Baccalaureate Academy.  Applications for all of their Signature Academies are also open until April 2015.

Here is an excerpt of their mission statement for their Signature Academies:

All NMUSD Signature Academies aspire to take students beyond the basics to elevate their academic vision. All academies have a global competitiveness theme. Students choosing to enroll in the Signature Academies receive unique curriculum options and supplemental activities that complement the highly successful core academic programs at our four high schools. Each academy in our high school zones approaches global competitiveness from a unique angle.

This is exciting news for Orange County!  As stated on their district website, their students will definitely make their mark on the world.

Posted in News | Leave a comment

BTSA (Bilingual Teacher Student Association) at UCI

DEF2W32W`1

BTSA at UCI

Bilingual Teacher is expanding its reach to our next generation of bilingual teachers.  Bilingual Teacher Student Association (BTSA) will be launched this spring on the UCI campus for any bilingual undergraduate and graduate students interested in becoming a bilingual teacher.

Our first BTSA meeting will be held on April 13, Monday, at 6pm in the School of Education building, room #2024.  Spread the word bilingual Anteaters!

Join us at Wayzgoose in April too!

Please complete this Google form if you are interested in becoming a member:         Bilingual Teacher Student Association

 

Posted in News | Leave a comment

First Vietnamese Dual Immersion Program in California

Westminster School District will be the very first California school district to offer a dual immersion program in Vietnamese next fall!  Garden Grove Unified School District will most likely follow with their own dual immersion program in Vietnamese too.

It is wonderful to see so many new dual immersion programs expanding in our local school districts across the county and the state.

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Possible Spanish Immersion Program in Irvine, CA

A  large group of parents from Irvine would like to see the Irvine Unified School District offer a Spanish immersion program next year at the elementary school level.  A website, My Bilingual Child Irvine, was created to help make this happen. The group has already gathered more than 100 signatures from parents and other supporters.  They will be speaking to the Irvine Board of Education on November 18, 2014 at 6:30pm in the district administration center at 5050 Barranca Parkway, Irvine.  Anyone can attend the meeting to show support and to to speak during the public comments section.  For more information or to speak at the meeting, please email mybilingualchildirvine@gmail.com.

Please support this group by signing their petition.

Posted in News | Leave a comment