ASU Confucius Institute launches Chinese program in local schools

The Confucius Classrooms at Boulder Creek, Diamond Canyon and Gavilan Peak will have a joint Confucius Classrooms Celebration at 7:00 pm on Friday, May 6 at Boulder Creek High School.  Boulder Creek, Diamond Canyon and Gavilan Peak students will perform skits, songs, a drums and lion dance, and a ribbon dance.

The ASU Confucius Institute has partnered with several Arizona schools to establish the Confucius Classrooms that offer effective Chinese language and culture programs.  Confucius Classrooms are Chinese programs funded by Confucius Institute Headquarters/Hanban.  In 2010, Hanban gave awards to six Confucius Classrooms in three Arizona school districts: Diamond Canyon School, Gavilan Peak School, Boulder Creek High, Horseshoe Trails Elementary, Lone Mountain Elementary and Rhodes Junior High.  

Both Gavilan Peak and Diamond Canyon offers students Mandarin instruction to all students from Kindergarten to eight grade.   The Confucius Classroom at Gavilan Peak also offers the first public school Mandarin Immersion program in Arizona.  Fifty-four first grade students are taught mathematics and sciencein Mandarin only. The Confucius Classroom at Boulder Creek will offer a Madarin Chinese course in the fall of 2011.  The Mandarin program at Boulder Creek will be part of a K-12 articluated course of study with two other Confucius Classroom Schools, Gavilan Peak and Diamond Canyon K-8 Schools.  This collaboration will allow Boulder Creek to expand its language offerings  and allow them to offer Advanced Placement courses in Mandarin within the next few years.