While everyone continues the fight on the future of school choice across America, International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas), chooses to focus less on the current state of politics and more on America’s future leaders. A free, public charter school with 10 campuses spanning across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Houston, ILTexas teaches students from a global perspective through a trilingual curriculum requiring all students to master the Chinese, Spanish, and English languages and a character enrichment program that shapes students to become more socially conscious.
With a mission and passion to prepare students beyond the classroom and a diverse world, ILTexas recently attended the Asia Society/College Board’s National Chinese Language Conference in Houston—one of the largest Chinese-language focused sessions where new ideas and best practices in the fields of Chinese language teaching and learning, Chinese arts and culture, and U.S.–China educational exchange takes place.
Having brought more than 70 of our Chinese teachers, ILTexas was enriched by all the information shared about the increasing number of Chinese-language curriculums implemented and the growing immersion of Chinese and American culture across the nation. An integral piece supported by NCLC speakers like Neil Bush, businessman and son of former President George H. Bush’s (41), who along with other guest panelists discussed the strategic and methodological ways the U.S. can strengthen its relationship with China—particularly in education.
Also during our appearance at the NCLC, ILTexas had the opportunity to host approximately 50 educators from around the globe at our two newest K8 campuses in Houston. Guests were able to receive an in-depth tour that allowed them to sit-in on our Spanish and Chinese classes, gaining an invaluable perspective on the unique infrastructure of our trilingual curriculum. ILTexas Superintendent also served as a panelist for session, “From Vision to Implementation: A Trilingual Model in a Texas Public Charter School” where he discussed the strategies and approach he’s taken in growing ILTexas from 2,500 students to more than 10,000 in just four years.
It is through opportunities like the NCLC and other language-teaching conferences that help ILTexas move the needle in strengthening language acquisitions amongst students and international relationships. We look forward to being a part of an ever-changing landscape that shapes the future of Chinese curriculums and immersion across the nation. To learn more about ILTexas, visit www.iltexas.org.
