K-12 Initiatives

The NFLC is working with the Asia Society in the planning and implementation of International High School programs by advising on the foreign language component. The Asia Society has funding from the Gates Foundation to initiate 10 such high schools in urban areas over the next three years.

Over the last several years, the NFLC has provided assistance to schools, school districts, and departments of education, including the following:

• Anchorage School District – Conduct external formative and summative evaluation of Project MIR, the nation's first and only Russian immersion program.
• Bellevue (Washington) Public Schools – Conduct program review and professional development for its K-12 Spanish immersion program.
• Cincinnati Public Schools – Assist with the assessment, redesign, and implementation of programs to meet the needs of English Language Learners, K-12.
• Cincinnati Public Schools – Design a new framework for a K-12 language program, including a K-8 immersion school and an international high school for grades 9-12; assist with implementation assessment, professional development, and technical assistance.
• Gulfport (Mississippi) School District – Assist with proposal development, project design and implementation, and professional development for two projects:
1. To introduce Spanish to students in grades K-3 in two high poverty schools, develop the capacity to expand to additional elementary schools, and plan for articulated opportunities for continued language learning through grade 12
2. The expansion of the model to all district elementary schools, extension through grade 5 and into middle school
• Jackson Hole (Wyoming) Schools – Advise in program design to meet the needs of English language learners and in the design and implementation of a two-way immersion program for elementary school students.
• Memphis City Schools – Advise in the design of a Turnkey Train-the-Trainers project, and provide professional development related to mentoring and peer coaching.
• Philadelphia City Schools – Assist in the design and implementation of new elementary school dual language and foreign language programs in Spanish and Chinese.
• Portland Public Schools – Provide professional development for K-12 portion of K-16 Flagship pipeline project in Chinese.
• San Diego County Office of Education – Provide keynote address at annual Dual Language Conference and professional development.
• San Diego Schools – Support language development and academic performance of English language learners, through technical assistance, advisory services, school visits, classroom observations, and professional development for school staff.
• Singapore American School – Conduct program review and professional development for the foreign language program.
• State of Mississippi – Assist with implementation of a project that introduces Spanish in the elementary grades to students in grades K-5 in four selected sites.
• State of North Carolina – Provide keynote address at Dual Language Conference and professional development.
• State of New Jersey – Benchmark existing New Jersey state standards with foreign language standards in selected other states and with National Standards for Student Language Learning. In addition to providing a detailed analysis that compares expectations for student foreign language learning in New Jersey with those of Massachusetts, Ohio, and Wisconsin, the NFLC staff met with the New Jersey task force charged with using the results to revise its current standards.
• 'Understanding by Design' – Provide financial support and participate in development of framework for designing well-articulated K-12 foreign language programs aligned with principles of 'Understanding by Design.'

  Professional Service

  The NFLC senior associate Myriam Met, director of the NFLC's K-12 initiative, served as co-chair of the Steering Committee of New Visions in Action. New Visions seeks to identify and implement the actions necessary to revamp the language education system so that it can more effectively achieve the important goal of language proficiency for all students. Met recently completed a four-year term as a member of the Executive Council of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.