EDWARDSVILLE, ILL., July 2, 2012 . . . Recognizing that Mandarin Chinese is one of the fastest growing languages in the United States, The Goddard School in Edwardsville has added the language to its curriculum of foreign languages, which already includes Spanish.
Approximately 75 children in The Goddard School in Edwardsville’s Jr. Kindergarten and school-aged programs will learn basic greetings, the alphabet, numbers and colors from Shan Lu, a graduate student at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Lu, a native of Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, speaks fluent Mandarin and will also teach the children about Chinese culture, food and music. She will meet with each student weekly.
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According to Barbara Burrows, owner of The Goddard School in Edwardsville, “We chose to add Mandarin to our curriculum so we can better prepare our young students for multi-cultural experiences as they live in a multi-cultural world. We hope to give them the best foundation possible for being successful, productive citizens.”
Since opening its doors in 2009, The Goddard School has provided a Spanish-based foreign language program that has focused on the fundamentals of the language as well as cultural aspects to give students a broader understanding of the language and its people.
Located at 801 & 821 Arbor Vitae in the Park at Plum Creek development in Edwardsville, The Goddard School in Edwardsville provides educational programs designed to meet the social, emotional and physical needs of children aged 6 weeks to 12 years. In addition to the strong emphasis on foreign language and cultures, the school’s play-based curriculum provides children with access to a wide range of extra-curricular activities such as yoga, sign language, art history, music appreciation and manners.
For more information about The Goddard School in Edwardsville, please visit www.goddardschool.com or call (618) 692-9464.
The Goddard School located in Edwardsville is part of Goddard Systems, Inc. Recently named #1 Childcare Franchise in the United States, by Entrepreneur magazine, for the ninth consecutive year (January 2010) and one of the Top 200 Franchise Systems (in worldwide sales), by Franchise Times, for the fourth consecutive year (October 2010); Goddard Systems, Inc. (GSI) is expanding The Goddard School® network throughout the United States. Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, GSI currently licenses 360+ franchised schools with more than 43,000 students in 34 states. With a successful system in place and dedicated franchisees, GSI is the acknowledged leader in franchised childcare and a premier childcare provider in the United States.
