Empower Charter School Launches First Public Trilingual Spanish and Mandarin Language Program in San Diego

Linda Vista school adds Mandarin for a third language

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Feb 20, 2018, 09:07 ET

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Empower Charter School has served the Linda Vista community for four years with an inquiry-based Spanish Immersion program and CrossFit Kids fitness program. Now the school is taking its language program a step further to add a third language - Mandarin - to provide students with the opportunity to become trilingual.

Forbes contributor Brian Rashid wrote, "At the pace with which businesses are expanding the world over, this is not the time for you to remain a monolinguist." In our global economy, the next generation will be competing with multilinguals from around the world. The ability to communicate with others is essential in today's globally interconnected world.

Empower Charter School is modeling its program after the Lakeside School District and will be the first within the city of San Diego to bring a trilingual Spanish/Mandarin language experience to public school students.

The school's vision is to empower students to be healthy global leaders and creative thinkers. Approximately 80 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, 50 percent are English Learners and 10 percent qualify for special education.

Empower Charter School students have demonstrated strong academic outcomes. Students performed at the 99^th percentile for growth in reading, language and math on the national-normed Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress. English learners significantly outperformed the district and state in English Language Arts on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress. Empower students are also performing at the top on the California Physical Fitness Test.

According to Demi Brown, the founder and executive director, "This school provides what I would want for my own child. Mandarin, Spanish and English are the most widely spoken languages in the world, and our students will be able to communicate with virtually everyone."

Empower Charter is a free public school, enrolling Grades K-6 for the 2018-19 school year. Interested parents can visit http://www.empowercharter.org.

Media Contact: Demi Brown 858-292-1304; [email protected]

SOURCE Empower Charter School