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Parents, students and ICIA urge IUSD board to allow Mandarin immersion through eighth grade
Summary
At a public hearing, Irvine Chinese Immersion Academy presented test-score evidence and a staged plan to add grades 6–8; students and dozens of parents urged approval, while board members pressed presenters on facilities, staffing, special‑education services and student‑body diversity. The board did not vote tonight.
Irvine Chinese Immersion Academy asked the Irvine Unified School District board to approve a material revision to its charter so the school can add middle‑school grades and keep its current students through eighth grade.
"We believe bilingualism is a superpower," said Dr. Benson Kwok, ICIA's executive director and principal, in a presentation that cited strong assessment results and a step‑by‑step growth plan. He told the board the expansion would begin with the current fifth‑grade cohort moving into a single sixth‑grade class in 2026–27, with seventh and eighth grades added in subsequent years.
Supporters filled the meeting chamber and dozens of speakers urged the board to approve…
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