Barrington’s “Bridge to Chinese” is a K-12 language and culture program that is designed to develop pre-advanced speakers of Chinese by the time of graduation from Barrington High School. This program was initiated with the support of a 2010 Federal Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant, a long standing program of the United States Department of Education. This federal grant was discontinued nationwide in the spring of 2012. However, the Barrington 220 Board of Education decided to continue the program in order to fulfill the original vision.
In 2009, Chinese language classes began at both Barrington Middle School locations as well as at Barrington High School through a “21st Century Language Learning” grant from the Illinois State Board of Education. This secondary program has grown steadily each year. A robust program has been implemented at the 6th and 7th grade levels designed specifically for the advanced language skills of the Chinese Immersion Students.
The Chinese immersion program (a 50-50 model) began in the 2011-12 school year with both a kindergarten and a first grade cohort (approximately 90 students). More than 230 students are currently enrolled in grades pre-K-8 across 5 separate schools in the district. Each year, an additional grade level cohort will be added to the program until a complete pre-K-12 track is established.
Click here to access the presentation from the Fall 2017 CI Rally