Robert Randall Elementary School

The Mandarin program kicked off in October of 2023 at Randall Elementary World Languages School! Beginning with Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten and expanding a grade level each subsequent school year.

After holding in-person and virtual community input meetings, poll results showed that 50% (376 responses) of respondents favored the Chinese dialect compared to 26 percent (195 responses) for Vietnamese.

Our Mandarin program is designed to provide exposure to the language through P.E., Art, and Music. It focuses on introducing students to the language and its culture meaningfully by performing activities that engage them. Our approach allows for a balanced integration of Mandarin into their existing educational routine. This method ensures that students can build a solid foundation in Mandarin while maintaining their proficiency in other subjects. 

"We worked very hard to get as much wide-ranging community input as possible," said Randall co-Principal Kristan Prolo, who was joined by Priti Johari, Executive Director, Learning and Innovation; Yvonne Sugimura, Coordinator II English Learners, Literacy & Intervention Services; and Claudia Cadenas, co-Principal, Randall World Language School in presenting their Randall World Languages Third Language Report.

In May of 2021, the MUSD Board of Education approved the integration of a third language at Randall World Languages School. The steering committee then completed the process of soliciting community feedback to determine the third language and came to the recommendation of Mandarin as the third language.