Our Children Speak Chinese: The case for support for Yinghua Academy

Our children speak Chinese - and our world will never be the same. This is a bold claim that fits on a bumper sticker. It is also a promise to our children that we will offer them the experiences, the education and the skills they need to succeed in and change the world - our rapidly changing world in the Twin Cities, the United States and around the planet.

The idea of Yinghua Academy - a public charter, Mandarin Chinese immersion school - is grounded in the belief that the world is increasingly "flat" (Thomas Friedman, 2005, The World is Flat) and that all children - no matter their ethnic or socioeconomic background - deserve the opportunity to be educated so that they are prepared to live and work and serve in this flat world.

Yinghua Academy brings together children from across the Twin Cities area - 52 different zip codes - to learn Chinese, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, along with Art and Music and so much more in a diverse, vibrant and engaged community setting. It is hard to miss the richness of the Yinghua community and experience when you step inside the school and see Yinghua students and teachers at work and play.

Why Yinghua Academy?
"Yinghua Academy is remarkable in its accomplishments! I have been an immersion educator and consultant for more than 30 years and have worked with immersion programs throughout the United States and in several other countries. I would put this program in the top five percent of those that I have seen!" (Dr. Helena Curtain, 5/20/2009)

"Yinghua Academy has a happy, children-are-cared-for-here energy." "The level of Mandarin spoken and used in the school is outstanding!" (Dr. Tara Fortune, 2/8/2008)

"The program is among the best StarTalk Grant Award sites we have seen." "There is ample evidence of students learning resulting from excellent instruction." (Dr. Myriam Met, 7/13/2009)

We expect our students to:

• Perform well on state-mandated standardized tests administered in English;

• Be able to speak, read, and write in Mandarin Chinese appropriate to their age level and instruction model;

• Acquire an acute cultural understanding of China and other countries of the world for more effective participation as global citizens.

Yinghua Academy was recently featured in Time Magazine. You can read the article here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1938738,00.html