San Francisco Begins Mandarin-Language Immersion Program

In an effort to strengthen education within the city, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom today announced the allocation of $105,000 from this year’s budget to support the city’s first-ever Mandarin language immersion program.

"Mandarin is increasingly becoming the language of choice for people across many continents," said Newsom. "It would be foolish to not provide future generations with the tools necessary to compete in the global economy. As the gateway to the Pacific, San Francisco must lead the way in helping to create a program that prepares our children for the challenges of this century."

In addition to grooming an able workforce, said Newsome in a release, dual-immersion programs improve academic achievement and create a pipeline for qualified teachers through exchange opportunities.

The San Francisco Unified School District currently offers 17 dual-immersion programs in various languages, including Spanish, Korean, and Cantonese. At Starr King, instruction begins in kindergarten, with students speaking a majority of the time in Mandarin. At the program’s conclusion in fifth grade, instruction is split evenly between Mandarin and English.

Mandarin is the world’s most common language, spoken by nearly 874 million people worldwide.

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