Reply to Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Them?

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Reply to "Bilingual Kids in Language Immersion ES Programs, Which Programs Have Many & Strive to Attract Them?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][/quote]  We are an Asian family at YY, not Chinese.  We feel welcomed at YY and have no issues with the administration:  They do a good job creating an inclusive environment for us and we also have a child with SN.

I like the principal.  So what if she is not Chinese?  DC is 1/2 AA and it makes sense to have someone at the head who will attract many kids who would benefit from an immersion education who don't necessary have any interest in China or Chinese. It's the school's job to create interest and an affiliation while they attend YY and families see that happening.

Nearly 1/2 of the population of DC is AA so having an AA principal as the head of a Mandarin immersion school does that.  [b]Families like mine who already have a strong affiliation with China and Mandarin will find their way in or attempt to whether they're recruited/given preference or not;  as seen by this thread, they are working every angle to try to get a spot.  YY is the only game in town for immersion Mandarin.[/b]Good luck in the lottery, everyone![/quote]

YY isn't in fact the only game in town for immersion Mandarin.  It's the only game in town unless a family doesn't speak Chinese at home, and isn't willing to work at the writing.  I've done the math, and we provide more immersion Chinese at home than YY provides at school.  What you say works if you're satisfied with the current number of bilingual families/kids.   If you aren't, and it doesn't sound like many parents are, not having an ethnic administrator is indeed an issue.  [b]The principal certainly doesn't have to be Chinese for many more bilingual families to embrace the school, but s/he does need to speak Chinese, and there needs to be at least one ethnic administrator[/b].  Otherwise, status quo, I'd bet on it.[/quote]

Ok so now I have a really basic question: Does the AA Adminstrator/Principal of YY speak Mandarin or not, and if so, at what level (however you can best describe language levels)?  I absolutely was under the impression she does speak Mandarin, though obviously not a native speaker.  I assumed she is conversational - is that not true?  Not that I don't believe she can be a great prinicipal at a DC Mandarin immersion school and not speak it - if she's a great administrator she could still pull it off well but you have to have native Chinese staff.  But does she speak Mandarin and if so, how much?[/quote]

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