Palo Alto school board mulls next step for Chinese immersion program

Jesse Dungan

Palo Alto Unified School District trustees are weighing the future of the Chinese immersion program at Ohlone Elementary School and will soon decide whether to make the pilot program a permanent fixture.

The school board considered changing the program's status to "ongoing" at its meeting Tuesday and is now scheduled to vote on the matter Dec. 7. Before the program was approved in 2007, it sparked controversy with opponents arguing the district should offer foreign language classes to all elementary school students, not just some.

"There obviously was a lot of controversy when this program was adopted," Superintendent Kevin Skelly acknowledged Tuesday.

But district staff, program consultants, Ohlone Principal Bill Overton and others told the board the program has been largely successful, both with students' progress and the incorporation of the program into the Ohlone community. Skelly is recommending trustees change the program's status to "ongoing."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at November 15, 2010 3:32 AM
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