Staff Spotlight: Summer (Chengying) Yang-Farmerie

Summer Yang-Farmerie

Becoming a kindergarten Chinese immersion teacher at Madison Elementary School was the furthest thing from Summer Yang-Farmerie’s mind while growing up in China. Yang-Farmerie grew up in western China and began learning English in middle school, but she never dreamed she’d be teaching her native language as an adult. “When I went to college,” says … Read more

Celebrating A Decade of Language Immersion

It has been one amazing decade of language immersion programming in St. Cloud Area School District 742, and immersion high school students are now masters in Chinese or Spanish. The program is described as a “little miracle” by language immersion and world language coordinator Sue Linn-Hasbrouck. Linn-Hasbrouck has witnessed firsthand the years of work and effort … Read more

It’s a Whole New World for 742 Chinese Immersion Students

Chinese Immersion students at the Great Wall of China.

“Can we go back to China?” asks Ameena Eyo, eighth-grade Chinese Immersion student at North Junior High School. Eighth-grade students from North and ninth-grade students from Apollo High School have just returned from a two-week educational trip to China and they are still abuzz from their experiences. The Apollo and North students who went on … Read more

Language Immersion: It Was the Best Decision We Ever Made

Paris at St. Cloud State University's New Year Celebration.

We were like any other parents nervous about enrolling their child in kindergarten. All the questions that run through your mind. Which school? What are the best opportunities? Is there busing? Is there before or after school care available? Then another thought crosses your mind. The choice we make now will potentially set the course for … Read more