Bridging the Great Wall: 550 students celebrate Chinese Immersion Program in Rigby

RIGBY, Idaho (KIFI) – Five hundred fifty Rigby students are enrolled in a unique Chinese Immersion Program in Jefferson School District 251.

The students celebrated with a Chinese cultural celebration Friday night for the whole community to enjoy.

"We had no idea that Rigby, Idaho, has the only Chinese immersion program in the state,” said Tamara Lass, Chinese Cultural Night organizer.

A delegation from China’s Embassy in San Francisco attended the event, teaching students about terracotta warriors using miniature replicas.

The district has been offering the program K-12 for about thirteen years – providing courses at South Fork Elementary, Rigby Middle School and Rigby High School.

"It's very fun to learn Chinese,” said third grader Thomas Stewart.  “It helps you learn more Chinese and different languages if you go to different schools."

The district also offers Spanish immersion at other elementary schools.

The program is rigorous – students at South Fork Elementary spend fifty percent of their day speaking Mandarin in class and fifty percent in English.

“We were super excited about it and really excited for our kids to start it because Mandarin is a language that I can't teach them and they can't get anywhere else," Lass said. 

The event helped bridge cultures and establish greater appreciation for Chinese language and heritage.

“It's all the way from kindergarten, so those students, they come to the class, learn Chinese … at a very young age, and the second grade, third grade and all the way up to high school,” said Jusong Su, one of nine Chinese Immersion teachers in the district.

One student had a special message for his father, who’s currently undergoing chemotherapy in the hospital.

“I love my Dad and I miss him,” Thomas Stewart said in Mandarin Chinese.