September 26, 2005 - Today's Other News Items

Grant Funds K-16 Chinese Program

National Security Education Program Announces Major New Grant Award to the University of Oregon and Portland Public Schools

The University of Oregon and Portland Public Schools today announced receipt of a National Security Education Program (NSEP) grant to jointly oversee the nation's first National Flagship Language Initiative (NFLI) Chinese K-16 language program.

At a ceremony at Portland's Woodstock Elementary School, NSEP Director Robert Slater awarded the university's Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS) and the Portland Public Schools $700,000 to fund the program's first year.

NFLI's program will develop a national model for a kindergarten through college Chinese program intended to produce to linguistically and culturally competent students. The program administered by the university and Portland schools will integrate academic content, experiential learning, and explicit instruction.

"The university has a national-caliber Chinese studies program, a large Chinese student population, and a significant number of Chinese-speaking faculty among a wide variety of disciplines," said Carl Falsgraf, CASLS director. "Portland Public Schools is a national leader in immersion education. This program will build on 11 years of close cooperation between CASLS and Portland schools on its immersion and heritage language programs."

Beginning in kindergarten, the program will provide students in both heritage and immersion programs direct academic instruction in Mandarin. Beginning in elementary school and continuing through college, students will have unparalleled opportunities to connect with communities of Chinese speakers through service learning, internships, and externships in China. Flagship Scholars will receive generous scholarships, individual mentoring, and a rigorous curriculum of content courses in Chinese supported by advanced-level language classes.

"NFLI is a strategic partnership between the U.S. national security community and higher education to address serious deficits in languages critical to national security," said Slater. "This new and unique partnership between the University of Oregon and Portland Public Schools joins eight other NFLI programs, including programs in Arabic, Korean, Persian, and Russian."