Orange, CA – February 26, 2019 – Mandarin Dual Language Immersion classes from Fletcher Elementary held their annual Lunar New Year Celebration this past Friday to celebrate the Year of the Pig. Students in grades K-6 performed songs, chants, martial arts and traditional Chinese dance in front of a packed auditorium at Cerro Villa Middle School.
Recognized as an official Confucius Classroom in 2015, Fletcher receives support from the Confucius Institute, which promotes the development of Chinese language education and provides Fletcher Elementary teachers with instructional and cultural resources. Dancers from the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University were on hand to perform a traditional Chinese Fan Dance for spectators, and Project Manager Anne Chu presented Lunar New Year gifts to school and district administrators.
Orange Unified School District began the Mandarin Immersion program at Fletcher seven years ago. This year, the inaugural group of students enrolled at Cerro Villa Middle School, where they continue their studies of Chinese language and culture, including learning World History in the Mandarin language. Students in the Dual Immersion program will eventually move on to Villa Park High School and take the AP Chinese test. Once they have completed the required curriculum in grades K-12, Mandarin Immersion students will graduate with the California Seal of Biliteracy, certifying “attainment of a high level of proficiency in two or more languages."
The Mandarin Immersion program is just one dual language opportunity for Orange Unified students, and is joined by California Elementary's iInspire iPad & Spanish Academy and Jordan's Academy of Language & Computer Science. OUSD’s Dual Language Immersion programs offer a rich bilingual experience, with instruction divided between two high quality, creative classrooms: one English and one in the program’s language. There is no other type of instruction, short of living in a second language environment, that is as successful as a dual immersion program to help students attain high levels of second language proficiency and well-developed cultural skills. The cognitive, socio-cultural, and economic benefits are great.
Student Benefits Include:
- Improved Performance on Standardized Tests
- Superior Problem Solving Skills in Addition to an Increased Understanding of Their Primary Language
- Increased Cultural Sensitivity and Skills to Excel in the Global Community
- A Solid Foundation of Computer Science Knowledge and Innovative Thinking
More information about OUSD’s dual language immersion programs is available online at https://www.orangeusd.org/enrollment/immersion-programs
