Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mandarin Immersion topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents and students urge Sequoia Union to expand Mandarin immersion into high schools
Summary
Dozens of parents, students and program advocates told the Sequoia Union High School District board they want Mandarin immersion extended through high school, arguing continuation supports college readiness, cultural identity and local workforce pathways and requesting district meetings with program developers.
Dozens of parents, students and program advocates urged the Sequoia Union High School District board on Oct. 8 to extend Mandarin immersion beyond middle school and into district high schools, saying the program provides academic opportunity and preserves students’ cultural identity.
At least 12 speakers, including current immersion students, parents and Orion Mandarin Immersion representatives, described personal and family investment in the program and asked the district to create an advanced track or high‑school pathway. Ryan Seabber, an eighth grader at Kennedy Middle School, said an immersion high‑school program would “set me up for success in college” and help balance enrollment at Woodside High School.
Parents described cohorts of students ready to continue. Greg Han, who said his child had attended immersion from kindergarten through 12th grade in another state, urged the board to consider a program that “tracks all the way through 12th grade and potentially offers college credit.” Parent Megan O’Reilly Green asked the board to meet the program’s curriculum writer, available Oct. 28–29, to discuss program design and next steps.
Speakers described academic benefits and local demand: students told trustees they have studied Mandarin for multiple years and face no local advanced pathway in high school; several parents said cohorts of incoming students will grow in coming years and that uninterrupted K–12 immersion preserves language retention.
Board members and staff did not make policy commitments during public comment. Trustees asked staff to return with options and data about what would be required to sustain a high‑school immersion pathway (enrollment thresholds, staffing needs and potential dual‑enrollment/college‑credit arrangements). Several trustees suggested the matter could appear as a future agenda item or be reported in a Friday update after staff review.
The public comment record included offers from the Mandarin community to consult on curriculum, and requests that the district consider dual‑enrollment or other creative options that would allow students to continue language study even if a full immersion pathway is not immediately feasible.
Next steps: trustees requested staff follow up with the public speakers and said they would gather information about demand, staffing and cost implications before bringing formal proposals to the board.
