Fwd: K-16 Language Updates

[Devin Browne]

 Below is a report from the JNCL-NCLIS.  It answered my question about the
newly appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign
Language Education, Andre Winston Lewis.  I was wondering if he had a
language background and apparently it's in RUSSIAN.  Cool.

That said, it's interesting to see that there have been major
funding initiatives for university-school district collaboratives for K-16,
well articulated critical language programs, but none for Russian (at least
none in the funding initiative described below).

Is anyone out there working on or in such an initiative?  Any full-fledged
partnerships out there to get advanced speakers of Russian by collaborating
in such a manner between a school district and a university?

Devin




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: J David Edwards <info2 at languagepolicy.org>
Date: 2009/10/22
Subject: K-16 Language Updates
To: J David Edwards <jde at languagepolicy.org>


 Dear JNCL-NCLIS Members,



Rep. Rush Holt is preparing to reintroduce his Foreign Language Education
Partnership Program Act within the next few days. During your congressional
visits in May, a number of you received positive responses about this bill
from your representatives. Now would be an excellent time to follow up with
staff (e-mail or phone) to ask that their boss be an original co-sponsor.



Additionally, on Monday October 19 the Department of Education announced
three new political appointees. One of these is Andre Winston Lewis as the
new Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language
Education. Mr. Lewis, with a background in Russian Studies at the University
of California – Berkley and a graduate of Boston University School of Law,
is the first appointee to fill the position JNCL-NCLIS worked to create
during the 110th Congress through the reauthorization of the Higher
Education Act of 1965. Mr. Lewis also has extensive political experience
locally in California and in Washington, DC and international experience
with the State Department.



Finally,  we have attached descriptions of the current K-16 Flagship
programs below for your reference. These were discussed at the JNCL-NCLIS
Delegate Assembly in May.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Michigan State University and Dearborn Public Schools are collaborating to
enhance Dearborn’s Arabic world language program*. Starting at the
elementary level, students study Arabic and have incorporated it into
content area instruction under the direction of the Dearborn Foreign
Language Assistance Program (DFLAP). The Arabic Language Instruction
Flagship (ALIF) program is ensuring excellence in K-12 instruction by
partnering with DFLAP to strengthen elementary and middle school instruction
and to create and implement a new curricular model of Arabic instruction for
high school students.



At the high school level, the creation of innovative curriculum, assessments
and materials; coupled with teacher professional development, all contribute
to the goal of increasing student competency in Modern Standard Arabic. The
revised curriculum and newly developed materials will align curriculum to
Michigan World Languages Standards. Extracurricular activities provide
students with a richer understanding of the culture as well as the language.
This new curriculum creates a national model for K-12 language instruction.
Students will graduate with excellent communication and intercultural
skills, and will be ready to continue their Arabic studies in higher
education.

*http://dearbornschools.org/component/content/article/48/173*
*http://www.dearbornschools.org/staff/leaders/worldlang/arabic/index.htm*



*The University of Oregon and Portland Public Schools operate a K-16 Chinese
Flagship Center*. The goal of the Center is to develop a program of
instruction for students that progresses from early learning through
advanced proficiency levels in high school to superior levels in college.
Project oversight and direction comes from the Center for Applied Second
Language Studies at the University of Oregon.



Kindergarten through Fifth-Grade
Beginning in Kindergarten, students spend half of the school day learning
language and content classes in English and half the day in their core
foreign language. Students learn the language and culture as they study
various core subjects through developmentally appropriate curriculum and
instruction.



Middle School (Sixth through Eighth Grade)
Students in middle school continue their language learning and cultural
skill development during daily social studies theme based classes and
language arts classes. In continuing to move students towards a high level
of functional proficiency the three year middle school experience culminates
with an opportunity to participate in a two week academic trip to the
country of study where students utilize their language and cultural skills
to navigate day to day aspects of living and conduct research based on
student centered inquiry projects.



High School (Ninth through Twelfth Grade)
PPS offers rigorous core academic courses in Mandarin along with advanced
level Mandarin language courses. Both heritage and immersion students enroll
in these courses with the targeted outcome of advanced skills in listening,
speaking, reading and writing at the end of high school. At the World
Institute at Franklin High School, students learn their core subjects in
English supplemented by their native language. Students aiming to become a
university level Flagship Scholar will be strongly encouraged to participate
in special preparation courses both locally and in country along with
community based language-learning experiences.

*http://casls.uoregon.edu/ppsflagship/en/index.php*



*The Ohio State University and Ohio Public Schools K-12 Chinese Flagship
Program* was established with NSEP funding in October 2006 to assist in
creating model programs in Ohio schools that want to make Chinese language
part of their curriculum. Because of the joint efforts of schools/districts,
the OSU K-12 Chinese Flagship Program and Ohio Department of Education, K-12
Chinese has witnessed a phenomenal growth – tripling the number of schools
and student enrollment in Chinese language.

The OSU K-12 Chinese Flagship Program aims at building the infrastructure
for Ohio schools to establish successful language programs leading to solid
communication skills in Mandarin Chinese. The program is developing
partnerships in Ohio and beyond to achieve objectives that include the
following:

*       Developing performance-based curriculum;
*       Providing teacher support and ongoing professional development; and
*       Creating a technology support system with effective Chinese language
programs.



The OSU K-12 Chinese Flagship Program is interested in supporting any school
in Ohio that is operating or plans to start a Chinese language program. We
are building partnerships with three schools in the 2007-08 school year to
create pilot programs in Ohio, and then expanding to more schools in the
following years. Ultimately, we want to see more Ohio students to be
proficient in Chinese language and knowledgeable about Chinese culture. This
will not only broaden our students’ career possibilities and benefit Ohio’s
economy, but also improve our national security and international relations.


*http://k12chineseflagship.osu.edu/index.html***





*Sandra L. Gillis*

*Office Manager*

*JNCL-NCLIS*

*4646 40th Street NW Suite 310*

*Washington DC 20016*

*Tel: 202-966-8477*

*Fax: 202-966-8310*

*info at languagepolicy.org*

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