1. The Minnesota and Utah Experience
Policy 101:
How to Get It Done

2. Minnesota: Overview
we’ve been.
Where
we are.
Where
are we going?
Where

3. 明州的中文教育
Chinese in the “Bright State”
History of more than 30 years.

Early Chinese language pioneers

South High School – 38 years (1971)

Central High School – 30 years (1979)

The Breck School – 30 years (1979)

Highland Park Senior High School – 22 years

Minnetonka High School – 20 years

Strong foundation

Good number of Chinese language experts

University of Minnesota – 60 years of Chinese

language instruction

4. Minnesota’s Policy Formation
Governor Pawlenty’s 2005 China Mission

Education Delegation

Minnesota’s children need to learn Mandarin

Minnesota Legislature

Minnesota Department of Education

The Chinese Language Programs Curriculum

Development Project - 2007
100 volunteers

Mandarin Chinese Inventory

Curriculum Development

Legislative Recommendations

MOU with the Hanban


5. Minnesota Chinese Language
Curriculum Development Project
Recommendations:

High School Graduate Foreign Language

Requirement – 2013
Increase the Number of “Strategic” Foreign

Languages Offered
Increase the Number of Licensed Foreign

Language Teachers
School Curricula Changed to Include Foreign

Languages, History, Cultures
Supplement School Learning with Summer

Intensive Learning Experiences

6. Funding Recommendations
$2,665,000 allocations recommended

Pilot program grants

 Training sessions for district administrators
 Scholarships for intensive teacher
education programs
 Chinese language teacher for state mentor
 International teacher exchange
 Intensive teacher preparation program
 Intensive teacher’s technology program

7. Actual Funding
Five 2-year World Language Grants

$100,000 each
Two Chinese Programs

Full-time World Language Coordinator

at the Minnesota Department of
Education

8. Where Are We Now?
In the past seven years, statewide enrollment

in Chinese has risen 258%
2000-01: 838 students (.5% of the those K-12

students studying a foreign language)
2007-08: 3,005 students studying Chinese (1.8%

of those K-12 students studying a foreign
language)
Five active and successful Chinese Immersion

programs for K and K-4
55 programs in 26 districts

2000-2008 added 18 FTE Chinese Teachers

(258%)

9. Where Are We Going?
How Are We Going to Get There?
Partnerships

Legislature, Minnesota Department of Education, and the

Institutions of Higher Education
Work to make world languages a requirement

Expand the number of licensure program

Confucius Institute, CARLA & College of Education and

Human Development at the University of Minnesota
Working to expand teachers degree program options at the

University
Providing more training for Chinese teachers

Providing language & cultural programming for the community

Hanban, College Board & Capital Normal University


10. Utah Overview
History
Brief
Why Utah, Why Now
Where are we?
Where are we going?

11. Brief History
Chinese first migrated to Utah in 1869.

Brigham Young University – over 50 years of

Chinese language instruction
Strong Language Tradition in Utah

However, Chinese NOT until 1989 in a high school


12. Why Utah, Why Now?
Jon M. Huntsman, Jr
Governor
Deputy US Trade Representative to China

 Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for East
Asian & Pacific Affairs
 Ambassador to Singapore
 Fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese
 Signed MOU with Hanban in 2005
 Governor’s Language Summit 2008
 Governor’s World Language Council 2008
 International Education Summit 2009
 Governor’s Roadmap to Language Excellence 2009

13. Global View
Being a multicultural person-- or at least a

citizen of the world-- is in the very foundation
of everything we do here… whether it’s
education policy or economic development
policy, it’s all set in a global context these days.
If you miss that point, then you’ve missed our
time and place in the world today.
And, sadly, there are a lot of governors who
are completely tone deaf to that reality.”
Jon M. Huntsman, Jr (2009)


14. Hanban Teachers in Utah
Utah State Capitol, February 24, 2009

15. Legislative Initiatives
Senator Howard Stephenson
 Senate Bill 2 (2007)
$100,000 on-going funding for full time World

Language Specialist (was half time position)
 Senate Bill 80 (2007)
$230,000 per year for six years to create the

Critical Language Pilot Program
 Senate Bill 41 (2008)
$480,000 per year for six years to expand

Critical Language Program
$270,000 per year for six years to create the

Dual Immersion Pilot Program

16. The Numbers: Past, Present & Future
 For the 2004-05 School Year
4 secondary school offer Mandarin Chinese

 189 secondary students* enrolled
 For the 2008-09 School Year
74 secondary school offer Mandarin Chinese

 3,489 secondary students* enrolled
 16 International Guest Teachers (Hanban)
*Secondary students grades 7-12

17. The Numbers: Past, Present & Future
For the 2009-10 School Year

82 secondary school will offer Mandarin Chinese

Approximately 6,000 secondary students* enrolled

22 International Guest Teachers (Hanban)

NEW for the 2009-10 School Year

8 elementary school Chinese Dual Immersion programs

(one-way) in 5 school districts
Between 450 -500 Chinese Dual Immersion students^

*secondary students grades 7-12
^dual immersion students Kinder & grade 1

18. Partnership
 Partnerships
 Utah Governor’s Office
 Utah State Legislature
 Utah State Office of Education (K-12)
 Utah Board of Regents (Higher Ed)
 Hanban & College Board
 University of Utah Confucius Institute
 Brigham Young University Chinese Flagship

19. QUESTIONS &
COMMENTS
Joan Brzezinski: brzez001@umn.edu
Gregg Roberts: gregg.roberts@schools.utah.gov