Chinese Bridge Delegation

I recently returned from what has been an absolutely amazing experience. I, along with more than 400 school administrators and educators, participated in the 2012 Chinese Bridge Delegation. This event is hosted by the Hanban (Chinese Ministry of Education) and CollegeBoard. The Delegates were separated into 10 groups and traveled to various provinces throughout China.

I was paired with a group of approximately 45 Principals, Superintendents, District Representatives and two Stanford representatives – all from the state of California. They were an incredible group and it was an honor to have been linked with such a great group of committed and hard working school administrators.

Two of the administrators in our group presently oversee Mandarin Immersion school programs. Mr. Edward Park is the Principal of Barnard Elementary School in San Diego, CA. Mr. Parks consistently represented himself as a true advocate for his students. While there was a lot of very thoughtful conversation about the importance and the sometimes misguided influence of test scores, Mr. Parks is an administrator that has ushered a significant amount of change in his school over the last five years. According to Movoto School Rankings, the API scores at Barnard have increased almost 100 points with students achieving an average score of 838. Barnard is a Title I school with an incredibly diverse student body that is approximately 40% Latino, 20% African American and 30% White. I challenge others to help me find a Chinese Immersion program that is primarily Latino / African American. What I have seen more often are Chinese Immersion programs with large General Education programs with a large African American / Latino population. We will continue to highlight tremendous things as Mr. Park and Barnard continue to excel in their program.

Mr. Peter Moore is the Head of the Lower School at the Chinese American International School (CAIS) located in San Francisco, CA. According to the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council, CAIS is the oldest Mandarin Immersion school in the United States, a private K-8 founded in 1981. The second U.S. Mandarin Immersion is Potomac Elementary School in Potomac, Maryland, that was founded in 1986. Mr. Moore is entering his second year as the Lower School Director at CAIS. Prior to that he has taught second, fourth, fifth and sixth grade, as well as, technology to kinder through sixth grade. Mr. Moore brings a high level of excitement, passion and commitment to providing his students with consistency across the curriculum as well as a stimulating classroom environment. (As a disclaimer I have to add that I was first impressed with Mr. Moore when we toured CAIS prior to enrolling our children. From our first meeting he has impressed me with his commitment to provide his students with the best opportunities to reach their full potential. His desire to support students and faculty is one of the many reasons we selected CAIS for our children.)

Two of the schools present at the Delegation currently provide supplemental Chinese language programs – Windmere Ranch Middle School in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and Killian Elementary School in the Rowland Unified School District. We intend to highlight more from the Chinese Bridge Delegation in later posts.