February 22, 2012 - New York, NY - MMRNews recently sat down with Nora Chang Wang, Shuang Wen Academy Network (SWAN), to learn about the organization and its future plans. SWAN operates a successful Chinese language immersion program in Manhattan, the largest after-school program in New York City. Since 1998, SWAN has grown from serving 40 pre-kingdergarten children to more than 630 students from Pre-K to 8th grades daily.
How was SWAN founded?SWAN was founded in 1996 as a non-profit, community-based organization by a group of education, civic, and business leaders in the Chinese American community in New York City, with a goal to promote Mandarin Chinese language and culture instruction starting with young children in a public school environment. After 2 years of advocacy, planning & development, the SWAN Board helped the NYC Board of Education (now the Department of Education) establish the Shuang Wen School, Public School 184M, in 1998 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. PS 184M became the first dual-language public school, where SWAN provided instruction in Chinese language and culture, in collaboration with the SW School, in its after-school program. SWAN strives to meet the needs of our community.
80% of SWAN students come from moderate and economically disadvantaged families. SWAN offers an affordable program, critical to the Lower Manhattan community helping students to develop proficiency in Mandarin Chinese language, preparing them as global citizens in an increasingly competitive and demanding international environment.
How is the program different from other Mandarin language programs?
When SWAN began its services in 1998, we opened our doors with the vision of promoting education and awareness of Chinese language/heritage. Through the years, we have become different from other Mandarin language programs because of our emphasis on curriculum and evaluation development. The curriculum we created for our students is based on high standards of Chinese proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. We ensure the learning standards are met through: 1) Outstanding and experienced teaching staff; 2) Grade specific Chinese language and culture learning; and 3) The use of technology and innovative techniques in Chinese learning. We take pride in our students, especially with the fact that upon graduating from SWAN's middle school program, the average SAT II Chinese Mandarin score of SWAN students is 620/800. These standards have helped set us apart and we became the leading educator among Mandarin language programs.
What is a typical afternoon like for SWAN students?
The instruction takes place every school day from 3:00 to 5:30pm. Students in the lower grade enjoy a variety of academic and cultural activities such as story time, Chinese poems, Chinese phonetics or singing Chinese folk songs. Students in the higher grades participate in shared reading, Chinese writing and publication. A few classes have even produced their own Chinese drama. This is a program for students to discover and experience another world under a safe and supportive environment.
What is the relationship between SWAN and PS 184M?
PS184M is a public school, part of the New York City Department of Education's public school system, whereas SWAN is a community-based organization, incorporated as a not-for-profit in the State of New York, totally independent from the NYC Department of Education. The collaboration between SWAN and PS184M, two separate entities, as partners, has led to the success of the reputable dual-language model at PS 184M.
What are the future plans for SWAN?
SWAN is committed to continuing to provide quality service in Chinese language & cultural instruction much needed by students at PS184M. We will continue to stay true to our mission statement. In the future, the organization's strategic vision entails replication of best practices and models built and implemented in multiple schools and communities via technology, partnerships and expansion of SWAN's program.
About Shuang Wen Academy Network (SWAN):
Founded in 1996, the mission of SWAN is to develop proficiency in Mandarin Chinese language and awareness of Chinese culture in individuals, preparing them as global citizens in an increasingly competitive and demanding international environment. Since its inception, SWAN has been giving students an opportunity to master Mandarin. Visit www.swan-nyc.org.
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Lisa Skriloff, President, lisa@multicultural.com
Agata Porter, Account Executive, agata@multicultural.com
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