Vol, 7, No. 12: March 31, 2008		Get SEAchange by email

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2. Chinese instruction grants available

A new grant program for school districts, Mandarin Chinese Program Development and Instructional Service Grants, will support district efforts to initiate and sustain effective Mandarin Chinese language programs.

The Department of Public Instruction is offering the grants with support from the U.S. Department of Education. (The federal National Security Language Initiative recognizes knowledge of Mandarin Chinese as a "critical need" for Americans.)

Interested districts are asked to submit a three-year program implementation plan. Qualifying districts will be contracted to provide Chinese instruction and receive grant support of $7,500 for each of the first two years of program development (2008-2010). Grant recipient districts agree to provide salary and benefits for a full-time Chinese language instruction teacher by the third year of the program (2010-2011). The DPI will support participating districts with consultation services and Chinese language program workshops.

For world language programs to succeed, it is critical that well-trained, linguistically and culturally competent staff be available. For that reason, qualifying districts will also be asked to serve as field experience sites for Chinese language teachers-in-training who are participating in the DPI Critical Language Fellows program. The Critical Language Fellows Program provides intensive pre-service teacher training to individuals pursuing Mandarin Chinese teacher certification and licensure.

Applications are due April 21. More information and application materials are available from Pam Delfosse, 608-266-3079.

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You can also receive SEAchange by email. For more information about SEAchange, contact: Benson Gardner at (608) 266-3374.

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Last updated on 3/31/2008