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Board directs staff to evaluate piloting Mandarin and other world languages in elementary schools
Summary
The Board voted unanimously to direct the superintendent to begin the program placement process to pilot Mandarin (and other world languages) in elementary schools that feed into middle schools with Mandarin offerings; staff noted the pilot would not be immersion and would be evaluated before any district-wide expansion.
The Board voted to direct the superintendent to begin the program placement process to explore a pilot that would introduce Mandarin and other world-language instruction in elementary schools that feed into middle schools offering Mandarin.
Commissioner Rachel Norton, one of the authors, said the resolution is the beginning of a process to analyze feasibility and emphasized that the measure is not an immediate pilot but a program-placement study to determine whether a pilot could be implemented. "We know that in order for students to be competitive, that they must be bilingual," Norton said, arguing for broader access earlier in the instructional day for students who are not enrolled in immersion programs.
Staff told the Board the budget committee reviewed the item and recommended a small amendment clarifying that a pilot would proceed only if the program placement process deemed it feasible; staff memos said there would be no net fiscal impact if current funds in the 2015–16 spending plan continue into the next year. The resolution specifies that the proposed pilot would not be immersion but rather daily world-language instruction available to all students; it also directs a thorough evaluation of the pilot—s goals and impact prior to expansion. If feasibility is found, the resolution calls for implementing the pilot no later than the 2018–19 school year.
The Board approved the directive by roll-call vote, recorded as seven ayes.
