Preschools will offer Chinese

Lansing district, E.L. to launch classes in fall

By Nicole Geary

Lansing State Journal

Mid-Michigan's youngest students will have a place to learn Chinese language and culture beginning this fall.

Actually, they'll have two.

Lansing schools and the city of East Lansing plan to open preschools, both free and tuition-based, using a bicultural curriculum developed at Michigan State University.

The programs will give local 3- and 4-year-olds a rare jump start in the push to create bilingual and globally competitive students.

And the announcement, made by MSU leaders this week, already is drawing interest from parents and educators statewide.

"I'm glad it's finally come to mid-Michigan," said Barbara Kolar, who plans to enroll her 3-year-old son in the East Lansing program. "It's a difficult language for Western learners so learning it at a young age is wonderful."

Chinese-immersion schools are common in many states, such as Oregon and California.

Yet few begin in preschool or incorporate both Western- and Eastern-style teaching practices, said Yong Zhao, director of MSU's U.S.-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence.

The center has been at the forefront in preparing Americans to interact with China - the globe's fastest growing economy.

MSU also announced this week a new online resource for adults and older students who want to learn Chinese. The preschools, some with potential to expand into elementary schools, provide an earlier, more effective option.

"Our program's goal is to actually teach math (and) science in two different languages," said senior project director Nicole Ellefson. "We're trying to create language users, not language learners."

Zhao and his team launched their curriculum last fall in Beijing, then set out to bring it to Michigan. Lansing schools, East Lansing - and Bay City Public Schools - were eager to make it happen.

"If we are going to continue doing business (with China), we need to have more of our children qualified to understand and speak the language," said Sergio Keck, bilingual education director at Lansing schools.

The school system will serve up to 32 children at no cost to families who live in the district by operating under the state-funded Michigan School Readiness Program. Participants must meet two of several at-risk factors.

Officials also have committed to expand into a regular kindergarten classroom the following school year, a move likely to attract more families from East Lansing and other communities.

East Lansing's new Chinese-immersion program will remain only at the preschool level for up to 20 kids each year. It will be housed among existing child care services at Bailey Community Center.

The Bay City program also will be tuition-based.

Zhao said he can accept up to two more partnerships with interested organizations before charging for services. The center is funded through a $5 million endowment from Hong Kong's Sun Wah Education Foundation.

Michigan's Department of Education supports the initiative and will be watching.

Early education consultant Connie Robinson said 85 percent of brain development is in place by age 5.

"I would dare say these children will be bilingual and possibly by the end of the year," Robinson said.

Contact Nicole Geary at 377-1066 or ngeary@lsj.com.

Global Citizenship schools

• Two Chinese-American preschools are expected to open this fall in mid-Michigan. The programs will be bilingual, immersing children in Chinese and English, and bicultural, providing instruction in the Western and Eastern styles. For details of the programs, see Page 3B.

• A research center at MSU will help recruit Chinese-speaking teachers, supply the curriculum and training and make visits at no cost.

On the Web

• http://ott.educ.msu.edu/egc.

• U.S.-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence: www.china-us.us

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