Language Immersion

Hopkins Public Schools Spanish and Chinese immersion programs holistically infuse cultural awareness, empathy and respect for other cultures into the curriculum for our global scholars.

We welcome your child to Hopkins Chinese and Spanish Immersion programs!

In an increasingly globally-connected and competitive world, being multilingual gives your child an amazing advantage. Hopkins Public Schools offers language immersion programs in Mandarin Chinese and Dual Immersion Spanish.

Both programs begin in kindergarten and continue in our secondary schools. Hopkins immersion students learn from native speakers, global educational exchange and travel opportunities, and even earn college credit.

All students are welcome — we encourage you to learn more and apply.

Young students smiling while seated together at a classroom table

About Hopkins Mandarin Chinese Immersion

Our Chinese Immersion program begins at XinXing Academy located in Eisenhower Elementary. XinXing is an early total immersion program. That means that all core subject matter is taught in Mandarin Chinese for the full day in grades K-2. Students learn to read and write in Mandarin first.

Our teachers are native speakers of Chinese, and they strive to create an authentic full-day immersion experience for your child. Special curriculum areas — art, music, physical education — are taught in English, but we infuse Chinese language and culture into those courses whenever possible.

Our goal is biliteracy in Chinese and English. English language arts are introduced for the equivalent of one hour per day beginning in grades 3-4, and there is an even distribution of English and Mandarin in grade 5.

XinXing Chinese Immersion courses continue at Hopkins West Middle School and Hopkins High School. Students who complete the full Chinese immersion track will be prepared for advanced coursework in Chinese at the college level and can earn up to 16 college credits by graduation.

XinXing has a partnership with schools in China that provide opportunities for educational exchanges and travel between our schools!

Learn more

Tour

Apply

About Hopkins Dual Spanish Immersion

Hopkins' Spanish Immersion program provides children the opportunity to develop proficiency in a second language during their elementary years. In kindergarten, 90% of instruction is in Spanish and 10% is in English. Students learn to read and write in Spanish first, and English literacy instruction is increased gradually. Our goal is to develop Spanish-English bilingual students.

Our Spanish immersion is a two-way Spanish immersion model, also known as dual Spanish immersion. We welcome English-speaking students and heritage Spanish-speaking students. Studies show that dual immersion is mutually beneficial for native English speakers and native Spanish speakers. Both groups experience faster acquisition of the other language and support each other's learning of English and Spanish.

Hopkins offers two Spanish immersion classrooms at each elementary grade level. Spanish immersion courses continue at our Hopkins North Middle School. Additionally, Hopkins High School offers College in the Schools courses in Spanish through the University of Minnesota and AP Spanish Literature.

Students who complete the full Spanish immersion track will be prepared for advanced Spanish coursework at the college level and can earn up to 16 college credits by graduation.

Learn more

Tour

Apply

Contacts

Carolina Lloyd, Enrollment Coordinaor
Carolina.Lloyd@HopkinsSchools.org
952-988-4110

Melissa Ness, Principal, Eisenhower Elementary
Chinese Immersion & Spanish Immersion
Melissa.Ness@HopkinsSchools.org
952-988-4301

Eduardo Navidad, Principal, Alice Smith Elementary
Spanish Immersion
Eduardo.Navidad@HopkinsSchools.org
952-988-4201

Teacher working with young students at a table.

Loading from Vimeo...

Bilingual/Multilingual Seal

Are you proficient in a language other than English? If you are, you may be eligible to earn college credits and receive a World Language Proficiency Certificate or a Bilingual or Multilingual Seal on your Hopkins High School transcript when you graduate. Whether you have learned to speak another language in school or elsewhere, the Minnesota Department of Education has established a system for recognizing high school students for their language proficiency.

Gold Bilingual Achievement State of Minnesota.

Platinum Bilingual Achievement State of Minnesota.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a bilingual or multilingual seal?

The Minnesota legislature passed Statute 120B.022 subd. 1b, which states that school districts in Minnesota may award bilingual or multilingual seals and world language proficiency certificates to graduating high school students who demonstrate certain levels of proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening in a language other than English as measured by an approved language proficiency assessment.

What are the benefits of earning a World Language Proficiency Certificate or Bilingual/Multilingual Seal?

Recognition

You have worked hard to develop a high level of proficiency in another language. This is your opportunity to highlight that accomplishment on your high school transcript. Earning a World Language Proficiency Certificate or adding a Bilingual/Multilingual Seal to your transcript shows colleges/universities and employers that you are proficient in a language (or languages) in addition to English. Because the assessments used to measure proficiency are based on the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning, the scores can be interpreted in a uniform way across institutions.

Earn college/university credits

You can earn free college credits from 26 colleges and 7 universities in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system by taking an approved proficiency assessment during grades 10-12 and demonstrating proficiency in a language other than English. You must request credits within three academic years of high school graduation and upon enrollment in a Minnesota State college or university. Credits are awarded as follows:

World Language Proficiency Certificate: 2 semesters of college language credit per language
Gold Bilingual or Multilingual Seal: 3 semesters of college language credit per language
Platinum Bilingual or Multilingual Seal: 4 semesters of college language credit per language

Colleges outside of the Minnesota State College and Universities system (e.g., the University of Minnesota, private colleges, and institutions in other States) will use their own institution’s criteria for awarding credits for language proficiency seals.

Please note:

How can I earn a World Language Proficiency Certificate or Bilingual/Multilingual Seal?

You will need to complete one of the qualifying assessments and receive a score that meets the criteria for a certificate or a seal, as shown in the chart below.

Students must also successfully complete all English Language Arts credits required for high school graduation and demonstrate mastery of Minnesota’s English language proficiency standards.

Please note: Students in Juntos and XinXing who took the AP exam in 9th grade in 2020 CANNOT use this score to qualify for a Bilingual Seal because that exam only assessed one skill area. If you want to qualify for a seal, you will need to take the STAMP 4S on March 14, 2023, or retake the AP test in May 2023.

	Proficiency Level Required	Qualifying Proficiency Assessments and Scores	Award Type	Minnesota State College and University Credits
World Language Proficiency Certificate	Intermediate-Low in all 4 skills: Reading, writing, speaking, listening	STAMP 4S [Intermediate low] AP Language Exam [Score of 3]	Transcript notation [for assessment taken in grades 9-12]	2 semesters of credit [if assessment is taken in grades 10-12]
Bilingual Gold Seal	Intermediate-High in all 4 skills: Reading, writing, speaking, listening	STAMP 4S [Intermediate high] AP Language Exam [Score of 4]	Transcript notation and seal [for assessment taken in grades 9-12]	3 semesters of credit [if assessment is taken in grades 10-12]
Bilingual Platinum Seal	Advanced-Low in all 4 skills: Reading, writing, speaking, listening	STAMP 4S [Advanced] AP Language Exam [Score of 5]	Transcript notation and seal [for assessment taken in grades 9-12]	4 semesters of credit [if assessment is taken in grades 10-12]
Multilingual Gold Seal	Intermediate-High in all 4 skills: Reading, writing, speaking, listening in 2 languages other than English	STAMP 4S [Intermediate high] AP Language Exam [Score of 4]	Transcript notation and seal [for assessment taken in grades 9-12]	3 semesters of credit in each language [if assessment is taken in grades 10-12]
Multilingual Platinum Seal	Advanced-Low in all 4 skills: Reading, writing, speaking, listening in 2 languages other than English	STAMP 4S [Advanced] AP Language Exam [Score of 5]	Transcript notation and seal [for assessment taken in grades 9-12]	4 semesters of credit in each language [if assessment is taken in grades 10-12]

What languages are currently available for assessment?

Hopkins offers the Advanced Placement (AP) exam in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. Students in the Juntos Spanish Immersion program or the XinXing Chinese Immersion program take the AP language exam in grade 9.

In addition to the AP exam, here are the non-AP assessment options that apply to more languages:

Languages	Assessment
ASL (American Sign Language)	Online Interview
Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish, Thai	STAMP 4S
Karen and Oramo	Extempore
Amharic, Hmong, Somali (Maay Maay and Maxaa), and Vietnamese	STAMP World Speak Assessment (Speaking and Writing) combined with an Extempore assessment (listening and reading assessment)
Czech	STAMP World Speak Assessment (Speaking and Writing) combined with a listening and reading assessment developed by the Minnesota Department of Education.
Dakota/Lakota, Ojibwe, Tamil, and Telugu	Minnesota Department of Education will assist with an assessment
Dari and Pashto	Minnesota Department of Education will announce more details soon

For all languages other than ASL, students must demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in order to be eligible to receive a world language proficiency certificate or a bilingual/multilingual seal.

What if I took the AP exam in grade 9 as part of my Juntos or XinXing immersion program?

If you took the AP language exam as part of your 9th grade Juntos or XinXing immersion class (any year, except 2020), you will be recognized for this accomplishment by receiving a World Language Proficiency Certificate and transcript notation for an AP score of 3, a Bilingual Gold Seal notation on your transcript for an AP score of 4, or a Bilingual Platinum Seal notation on your transcript for an AP score of 5 upon graduation from Hopkins High School. You will NOT be eligible to receive credits at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities based on an AP exam taken in grade 9; credits are only awarded at these colleges and universities for assessments taken during grades 10-12.

However, AP credits are accepted by many other colleges and universities, for more details, please visit this webpage. In addition, if you continue on the immersion track, you may be taking University of Minnesota College in the Schools language courses, which could earn 4-5 U of M credits each that can be used at the University of Minnesota or may be transferred to other colleges and universities in Minnesota or to colleges and universities in other States. Please contact your immersion teachers for confirmation.

Please note:

Students in Juntos and XinXing who took the AP exam in 9th grade in 2020 CANNOT use this score to qualify for a Bilingual Seal because that exam only assessed one skill area. If you want to qualify for a seal, you will need to take the STAMP 4S on March 14, 2023, or retake the AP test in May 2023.

What if I am taking College in the Schools courses? Will I need to take an assessment to earn a certificate or seal?

Yes, a separate assessment will be required if you are a College in the Schools student and you want to earn a certificate or seal on your transcript. The University of Minnesota College in the Schools courses do not include one of the State of Minnesota’s qualifying language proficiency assessments. However, you may choose to take the STAMP 4S assessment or AP language exam in the Spring of your senior year to demonstrate your language proficiency level and earn a certificate or seal. Whether or not you choose to take an assessment to earn a certificate or seal, you will earn 4-5 U of M credits for each College in the Schools course that you complete. Those credits can be used at the U of M or may be transferred to other colleges and universities in Minnesota or to colleges and universities in other States.

If you have any questions, please contact your counselors.

How do I know if I am ready to take an assessment?

How much does the assessment cost?

When can I take the assessment?

AP is offered every Spring. For the school year 2022-23, please see this page for more information.

For other language assessments (see below), if you are a senior this school year, please register before Feb. 11, 2023.

Students must also successfully complete all English Language Arts credits required for high school graduation and demonstrate mastery of Minnesota’s English language proficiency standards.

Languages	Assessment
ASL (American Sign Language)	Online Interview
Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish, Thai	STAMP 4S
Karen and Oramo	Extempore
Amharic, Hmong, Somali (Maay Maay and Maxaa), and Vietnamese	STAMP World Speak Assessment (Speaking and Writing) combined with an Extempore assessment (listening and reading assessment)
Czech	STAMP World Speak Assessment (Speaking and Writing) combined with a listening and reading assessment developed by the Minnesota Department of Education.
Dakota/Lakota, Ojibwe, Tamil, and Telugu	Minnesota Department of Education will assist with an assessment
Dari and Pashto	Minnesota Department of Education will announce more details soon

For more detailed information and non-AP language assessment preparation tips, please see this slide deck.