Charter Renewed for One of State's Top Performing Schools (January 19, 2017)
Now Accepting Applications for 2017-2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hadley, Mass—January 19, 2017—The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) today approved the charter renewal for the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (PVCICS.) Over the past ten years, the Hadley based K-12 public charter school has consistently produced excellent academic results who graduate highly proficient in English and Chinese.
“We are very pleased the state has once again renewed our charter,” said Richard Alcorn, Executive Director of PVCICS. “Since opening in 2007, we have been faithful to our charter and committed to educating children from the Pioneer Valley in both English and Mandarin. Our goal has always been to maintain a rigorous curriculum which challenges our students every day as well as teaching them about the cultural intricacies of China. We appreciate the support we have received from the Board of Secondary and Elementary Education and Commissioner Chester.”
PVCICS is the only Chinese immersion public charter school in the state of Massachusetts, serving students from grades K-12 and offering the two year International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme in 11th and 12th grades. Students are immersed in learning Mandarin Chinese starting in kindergarten and are quickly proficient in what is considered one of the most difficult languages to master. In 2015, PVCICS was one of only three schools in the U.S. to be awarded the prestigious Confucius Classroom of the Year Award. The school consistently ranks at or near the top for MCAS testing in the state and is a Level 1 performing school.
“Not only are we proud of our students academics achievements, we are also committed to educating them about international topics through the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme,” said Kathleen Wang, Principal of PVCICS. “We prepare students for the rigors of collegiate level studies and hope they become global citizens with a better understanding of the world and its people.”
Students are accepted to PVCICS through a lottery system and come from 39 different cities and towns from throughout the Pioneer Valley. As a public charter school, there is no tuition and it is accepting lottery applications for fall 2017 entry now.
For more information or to schedule a visit to PVCICS, please contact:
Darcie Fisher
Ellis Strategies, Inc.
darcie@ellisstrategies.com | 774-281-3506
About the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School
Chartered by the Massachusetts Department of Education in 2007, the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (PVCICS) is a tuition-free, regional K-12 public charter school in Hadley, Massachusetts, that prepares students for academic and personal success through rigorous study in English and Mandarin Chinese. The school's goal is to graduate students with excellent scholarship, high proficiency in Mandarin Chinese and English, and sensitivity to multiple cultures. PVCICS is an International Baccalaureate World School offering the IB Diploma Programme.