Hopkins School District #270

A full-day Chinese immersion program

XinXing Academy is Hopkins Public Schools' Chinese full immersion program located at Eisenhower Elementary School. XinXing means New Star in Mandarin Chinese. XinXing is available to students from each of Hopkins Public Schools' six elementary schools, and for parents who wish to open-enroll their children into the school district.

Benefits of the program

• XinXing Academy is a full-immersion program; all subject matter is taught in Mandarin Chinese for the full day. English language arts is introduced in 3rd grade, with an even distribution of English and Mandarin Chinese by 5th and 6th grade.
• The full-day kindergarten provides students with sufficient contact with the language to form the necessary base for success in 1st grade and beyond.
• Class sizes range from 23 to 28 students, with the average class size about 25 students.
• Because students are immersed in the language all day every day, they acquire language proficiency faster than students in traditional foreign language classes, and develop increased cultural awareness.
• Foreign language immersion develops more flexible thinking and has a positive effect on students' cognitive development.
• Immersion students ultimately achieve as well as or better than their non-immersion peers on standardized tests that measure verbal and mathematical skills in English.

Hours

6.5 hours per day, including lunch and recess, in the XinXing kindergarten classroom, five days per week

Cost

$3,900 for the 2012/13 school year (scholarships are available)

To apply for a scholarship, you will need to fill out an Application for Education Benefits (free/reduced price meal application) and a Kindergarten Scholarship Meal Eligibility Release Form. These forms may be submitted along with the kindergarten application and will be sent to our School Nutrition department for review. The Kindergarten Scholarship Meal Eligibility Release Form allows the results to be provided to Kindergarten officials for scholarship eligibility determination. Both forms can be found at the links below.

Before- and after-school care options

• Adding* before- OR after-school care with Kids & Company: $2,125
• Adding* before- AND after-school care with Kids & Company: $4,250
• *Kids & Company rates are in addition to XinXing Academy program rates. Three- and four-day Kids & Company options are available. Kids & Company rates for 2012/13 are subject to change. Enrollment in XinXing Academy does not guarantee space in Kids & Company's before- and after-school childcare. Space is limited.

More information

Informational materials are available through the Eisenhower Elementary School office, 1001 Highway 7, Hopkins. For additional information, please contact Eisenhower & XinXing Academy Principal Terri Sigüenza at 952.988.4300.

Registration

The registration deadline for the 2012-13 school year will be January 16, 2012.