Maryknoll to expand its Chinese Immersion Program

Maryknoll School is set to expand its high-demand Chinese Immersion Program to five more grade levels.

The private school will extend its program from just kindergarten and first grade to a new grade level each year until it reaches sixth grade. Students enrolled in the program spend half a school day learning regular courses in English and another half learning in Mandarin, which is helping them become bilingual.

Perry Martin, Maryknoll school president, predicts that two-thirds of the school will be bilingual in about seven years.

“When you see 5- and 6-year-old children being able to speak and write another language, it’s a magical experience.” Martin said. “It’s one of those kinds of programs where everyone wants their child to have an advantage like this.”

Douglas Ho, an alumnus of the school, donated $225,000 to help the program grow. He said he feels this type of program is a necessity for younger generations so that they can have a global-oriented mindset.

“We’re probably gonna have some basically great kids that understand world events,” said Ho, a philanthropist. His donation will help develop the curriculum for the new grades, help faculty with “professional development” and renovate classrooms.

The program started two years ago and has 81 children enrolled. Plus, there is a waiting list.

One parent, who has had her son in the program from the start, said she enrolled her child to give him the choice of two languages when he grows up.

“The language also embodies the culture,” Ging Ging Fernandez said. “So it’s one level deeper into understanding who you are and where you’re from. … There’s just so much embedded into a language.”

When she heard about the expansion, she was excited that her son would be able to learn the language for a longer period.

“I speak Chinese to my kids at home, but it wasn’t really enough … so I was really looking for an opportunity for immersion,” Fernandez said. “An expansion means the program really will last, and they’ll put continual resources into it.”

Catherina Gaines’ daughter is enrolled in the program and already has helped people in Waikiki who were lost find their way.

“She will have conversations with people on the street when they’re lost,” said Gaines. “We live in Waikiki, so she does that a lot. We visited China in October; she helped me and my husband order food because neither myself or my husband speak Mandarin. So we were very happy she was able to do this for us.”

Students will continue to be eligible to enter the program only through kindergarten and first grade so that students can be fluent from a young age.

Martin said he believes this program will change Maryknoll school “forever.”