U.S. Department of Education Awards Foreign Language Grant to a Michigan School

Rockford Public Schools’ dedication to expanding its foreign language program paid off in a big way recently when the school system was awarded a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education. In a ceremony held at the high school in June, Rockford Superintendent Mike Shibler accepted the Foreign Language Assistance Program Grant from Department of Education representative Todd Zoellick. The first installment of $100,000 is designed to assist the school system with establishing and maintaining its extensive foreign language offerings.

“We received the grant in part because we have a Spanish immersion program in grades one and two and will be adding a year each year through fifth-grade,” Shibler said. “Also, we’ve started teaching Mandarin Chinese to our ninth graders and will be adding to that program each year. The federal government is impressed we are doing this.” Rockford was the only school system in the state to receive this grant for 2007. Individual charter schools in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights also received similar grants.

Shibler said he is especially proud of the school system’s Chinese language program. After a recent visit to China, Shibler returned with a renewed sense of the importance of providing an “international” education to area students.

“In May, I spent two weeks in China to study elementary, middle, and high school programs and meet with the minister of education in Beijing,” Shibler said. “During those two weeks, I learned about China and its educational systems, and I am more convinced than ever that we need to offer opportunities for students to take foreign languages like Chinese if we’re going to prepare kids for a global society.”

Shibler said he feels that the future points toward a close business and political affiliation with China.

“All their students take English as a second language,” Shibler said. “At some point they will become the largest English-speaking country in the world.”

For more information, contact: Mike Shibler, Superintendent, Rockford Public Schools, 350 Main St., Rockford, MI 49341, (616) 863-6320, mshibler@rockford.k12.mi.us or visit www.rockford.k12.mi.us.

For information on the Foreign Language Assistance Program Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, visit www.ed.gov.

Source: Adapted from the Rockford Cedar Springs Advance, June 12, 2007.