What does immersion look like in High School?

The high school immersion track has excellent opportunities for our students.

Three things to know: 

• Understand the high-school sequence of Chinese curriculum: 9th pre-AP ("Advanced Placement"); 10th AP; 11th PSEO #301 and #302 through Winona State;  12th Elective or Service
• The sibling-like dynamic of the CIP class is at its strongest, offering both a high level of support - and tension.
• The Mandarin teacher spends time at both high schools, and the Apollo classroom is also utilized for Spanish world language classes.

Three things to try: 

• Students are more likely to thrive if they initiate their own opportunities.  Try enrichment options like the GLCC activities (art, quiz bowl, speech).  
• Seniors can volunteer for credit in an elementary immersion classroom.
• Consider co-hosting an intern for part of the year, for a mutual learning boost.

Three things to avoid: 

• Avoid defaulting to a student's request to exit immersion (instead, explore and expand on their own WHY framework).
• Avoid ignoring overdue or under-done homework assignments (instead, find help, tutoring, or time).
• Avoid the pitfalls of being unprepared for PSEO (instead, talk to an academic advisor before enrolling in multiple courses).

Three things to help: 

• Our SCSU liason can help us connect with native-speaking students & tutors
• There are specific Chinese-language resources for our college-bound graduates.  Chinese is considered a strategic language.  Industry-specific language training is available through the UMN Chinese Flagship program.
• Apollo classrooms are numbered in groups, which are arranged sequentially like a keypad.  (The library is in the middle.  The 100 block in the "bottom left", and the 900 block in the "top right".)