Fundraising, Hiring Underway for New Chinese Language Program

When a Mandarin Chinese immersion program at Capistrano Unified was approved in September, the school board added a caveat that it be “revenue-neutral.”

Parents were asked to set up a foundation to funnel donations. Thalia Tong, one of the parents leading the effort, said her group has done just that.

The Bergeson Elementary Foundation, a registered nonprofit, has raised $2,000 of the $15,000 needed to launch the program.

“We’re trying to set up corporate sponsorship levels," Ton said. "We’re really going big. We want the best for our children."

Billed as the first public school program of its kind in Orange County, it might begin enrolling children as early as December, according to a newsletter.

"Our school board for CUSD will be voting this coming week on the possibility of an early open enrollment period for the Mandarin Immersion program," the email, written by Principal Barbara Scholl, reports. "If this is approved, there will be early enrollment in December and then another enrollment period in February."

The school board is scheduled to meet Nov. 14, but the agenda is not yet posted.

"In the meantime, we’re doing lots of exciting work with curriculum research, fundraising and hiring great people to work with our kids," Scholl wrote.

Even before kindergarteners start the program next fall, preschoolers who turn 4 by Nov. 1 might get a chance to experience Chinese when a new pre-kindergarten program starts in February.

“The CUSD preschool department is currently working on getting the program licensed, the rooms approved, the furniture transferred from another school, in addition to many other details,” said Tong, a San Clemente resident.

Parents will be able to register on the district's website once everything is finalized, she added.

Tong is looking for more donation possibilities, such as a venue to host a Chinese New Year celebration fundraiser.

Unlike CUSD's Spanish immersion programs, which are located in poorer schools that get additional state and federal funding, Bergeson Elementary is not a Title I school and does not have extra money to bring down teacher-to-student ratios, Tong said.

Tong's goal is to raise enough money to hire classroom aides and buy the latest technology to make learning the complex Chinese characters more fun.

So far, she’s been thrilled with how quickly the district has responded while still upholding high standards.

“They’re not going [for teachers with] emergency credentials. They’re not taking a shortcut with the curriculum,” Tong said.

Finding qualified teachers was considered one of the toughest hurdles in a report district staffers wrote to the school board. There are only 47 teachers in the entire state who are properly credentialed to teach in Chinese, the report said.

The program will start with kindergarten, and possibly first grade, if a teacher can be secured, Tong said.

There are several Mandarin Chinese immersion programs across the state, in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and one in San Diego County.

A proposed charter school in Tustin was to offer Chinese as well, but the Tustin Unified school board shot down the proposal.

Tong said the limited offerings elsewhere will make the demand for Capo’s immersion program even more intense. Among those who have expressed an interest in enrolling are families from as far away as Anaheim and Garden Grove.

Parents who are interested in the program will meet for a social gathering from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Nov. 19 at Dinosaur Park in Laguna Hills.