Open House set for UCS Mandarin Chinese program for 2013 kindergarten students

Parents interested in a kindergarten Mandarin Chinese immersion program for the 2013-2014 school year may attend an open house at 6 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Oakbrook Elementary School, 12060 Greenway in Sterling Heights.

The open house will provide parents with information about the program as well as an opportunity to meet with teachers and view classrooms. Applications will be available that evening for parents who select to have their children participate in the program for the next school year. 

Known as Project CLIME (Critical Language Initiative in Mandarin Education), the kindergarten program is the beginning steps of a K-12 Mandarin/Chinese program in Utica Community Schools.

Started through a federal grant, the program will result in a K-6 partial immersion program at Oakbrook Elementary School, feeding into a secondary target language program housed at Heritage Junior High School, Stevenson High School and the Utica Academy for International Studies (International Baccalaureate). 

The full day kindergarten program at Oakbrook allows students to have a half-day experience with a English-speaking teacher and half-day instruction provided by a Mandarin-speaking teacher. Students will learn Mandarin in an environment ideal for language learning and in tandem with Michigan and UCS Grade Level Standards.

The Mandarin/Chinese immersion program is one kindergarten option offered to UCS parents. All UCS elementary schools will be holding open houses on kindergarten options on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 7 p.m. For more information, please visit http://www.uticak12.org.