blending in at school

[bethelion]

OK gang....I'm getting way ahead of myself here but I have a concern about Lili's daughter once she arrives in USA. She speaks almost no english and even though she will be studying english before her arrival I don't think it will be good enough for regular school. She is 15 now and will probably be 17 before she arrives. What are the options I have for her and school.....private tutor, private specialty school, home school, ESL classes until she can transition into public school and what about age, can she be a freshman in high school at 17 or 18? Have any of you had to deal with this issue? Any information would be great and if it matters I live in socal.

 

Brian

[warpedbored]

I think you will be amazed at how fast she will catch on. Most public schools have an ESL program. I think you will find she will be correcting her mothers grammar and on the honor roll in no time.

[Don]

OK gang....I'm getting way ahead of myself here but I have a concern about Lili's daughter once she arrives in USA. She speaks almost no english and even though she will be studying english before her arrival I don't think it will be good enough for regular school. She is 15 now and will probably be 17 before she arrives. What are the options I have for her and school.....private tutor, private specialty school, home school, ESL classes until she can transition into public school and what about age, can she be a freshman in high school at 17 or 18? Have any of you had to deal with this issue? Any information would be great and if it matters I live in socal.

 

Brian

 

My daughter is 15 right now a Sophmore and just arrived in Nov. She is doing very well they have protected classes for the kids here in SoCal. She takes history, speech and english as proteced classes and is ahead in Math and Science. Bio is hard for her, but she is catching up fast and will soone pass most. English is also hard but going well. She has me and her mom. Her mom was an english teacher, so they both came with okay skills. Daughter was weaker, but who knows next year maybe better. Plus, they can go to jr colllege while htey learn english, so if not good enough for UC school level they can still get in after two years. They do have to pass the state of ca english test, the math will be easy once they can read it.

[egolessvegan]

Find the closest school that offers ESL. Her English will improve quickly.

 

Ken

[esun41]

Jack and Lulu were treated like Rock Stars in their school. Not as much in California because of the higher Asian influence but here in East Texas, they are somewhat of a difference and people are attracted to them. Being great kids helps as well!

ESL is a major plus. Having school records to determine what credits she will carry forward and what classes she will need to finish.

 

Kids that age are pretty impressionable but resilient more than not. I wouldn't be too concerned.

[Guest Mike and Lily]

OK gang....I'm getting way ahead of myself here but I have a concern about Lili's daughter once she arrives in USA. She speaks almost no english and even though she will be studying english before her arrival I don't think it will be good enough for regular school. She is 15 now and will probably be 17 before she arrives. What are the options I have for her and school.....private tutor, private specialty school, home school, ESL classes until she can transition into public school and what about age, can she be a freshman in high school at 17 or 18? Have any of you had to deal with this issue? Any information would be great and if it matters I live in socal.

 

Brian

 

My wife is in college here. She has had no trouble transitioning to leaning here. But her English is quite good. The educational system here is a virtual vacation compared to the education they receive in China. China's system is more demanding. I would recommend an English tutor if you can afford it. She would likely have a social adjustment issue as well. There is such a huge cultural difference between Chinese high school students and American high school students.

[jim_julian]

You want to put your daughter in school at the same grade level she would be in China. I recommend you make an appointment and discuss the future with your local high school. She certainly won't be the first immigrant they've seen and I think you'll find them well prepared.

 

Social issues are just as important as language issues at this age. In my opinion it would be a major mistake to set her back even one year. She needs to be with students of the same age.

 

We chose to do a K-2 follow to join and left our daughter in China, with her grandparents, to finish high school. Depending on timing you may have a similar option.

 

Whether she completes high school in China or in California she won't be equipped to compete well on the SATs. I agree with Don that community college is the way to go in California. Our daughter arrived in May 07 and was in summer session at the local college by July. She currently has a 3.88 GPA and is happy as can be. This particular college, like some others in California, offers the American College English curriculum in parallel with "regular" college courses. ACE is like ESL on steroids ... it's really well designed and will have her English at college level in about 1.5 years. She had 8 years of English in Chinese schools but only tested out of the first year of ACE. Math was not her strongest subject in China but in her mainstream college Intermediate Algebra class, just completed, she was the #1 student. It will probably take 2.5-3 years for her to complete the community college 2 year program plus ACE and then she plans to transfer to a 4 year UC or Cal State where she'd enter as a Junior.

 

In our experience the education programs in California are really well set up. With the "Chinese work ethic" and support from you and your wife, I'm sure she'll do fine. Your advance planning will do a lot to reassure her (never forget she's a teenage girl!) and help her get off to a good start

[Don]

You want to put your daughter in school at the same grade level she would be in China. I recommend you make an appointment and discuss the future with your local high school. She certainly won't be the first immigrant they've seen and I think you'll find them well prepared.

 

Social issues are just as important as language issues at this age. In my opinion it would be a major mistake to set her back even one year. She needs to be with students of the same age.

 

We chose to do a K-2 follow to join and left our daughter in China, with her grandparents, to finish high school. Depending on timing you may have a similar option.

 

Whether she completes high school in China or in California she won't be equipped to compete well on the SATs. I agree with Don that community college is the way to go in California. Our daughter arrived in May 07 and was in summer session at the local college by July. She currently has a 3.88 GPA and is happy as can be. This particular college, like some others in California, offers the American College English curriculum in parallel with "regular" college courses. ACE is like ESL on steroids ... it's really well designed and will have her English at college level in about 1.5 years. She had 8 years of English in Chinese schools but only tested out of the first year of ACE. Math was not her strongest subject in China but in her mainstream college Intermediate Algebra class, just completed, she was the #1 student. It will probably take 2.5-3 years for her to complete the community college 2 year program plus ACE and then she plans to transfer to a 4 year UC or Cal State where she'd enter as a Junior.

 

In our experience the education programs in California are really well set up. With the "Chinese work ethic" and support from you and your wife, I'm sure she'll do fine. Your advance planning will do a lot to reassure her (never forget she's a teenage girl!) and help her get off to a good start

 

I mention the CA sate test for all high school students. One thing to know is that she must pass this test to graduate, it includes math and english. Often the math is easy for the chinese kids to pass, but the english can take a few tries. If she comes in as a senior than she will not have very many chances to pass. She should enter at the same grade she was in in china, most school will not put her in a lower grade. It would not be good either. The school know how to do this. She should bring a withdrawl grades, so that she does not loose any time transisitioning schools. You still have options, just talk with the school about the different paths. so far everything is looking good for my daughter. She has many friends, very quickly - boys and girls. She seems to very popular. Plus, her school has many asians just from asia just like her. She has met some of the senior girls that came from china and taiwan at the same ages she did, 15. They have helped and told her about school.

[MikeXiao]

Our son got here in March last year, and they put him right into 2nd grade. He spoke no English. This year, in Third grade, his English is growing at an unbelievable rate, and he has made the Honor Roll. Your daughter will pick it up quickly and the school systems are great about it.

Good Luck

[bethelion]

Once again I am humbled by everyones helpful replies....you guys are the best. I will look into many of the options provided here and will keep you updated on the progress.

 

Brian

[sylinchinastill]

Have her get an english tutor or go to school in the two years before she arrives. If she can get extra help to learn now it will make transitioning much easier for her. There is enough to learn without having to have such a language burden of you can avoid it.