KCIS or ESF?

[lily12211]

Hi all,

My son is turning 3 in a few weeks and we've been looking at K1 schools for him. Anyone have thoughts on KCIS vs. ESF kindergarten/reception? We are Asian/American and while we'd love for our son to have a strong grasp of Mandarin (he can speak it quite fluently now because of his bilingual home environment and current school), we also will most likely send him to school back in the States at some point. I've heard good things about both KCIS and ESF, but also some criticisms. I know KCIS has more Chinese language elements than ESF, but is it a better system?

Thanks for any input!

 

[ychia76]

My input is the curriculum for Chinese language, right now ESF is a pathway system. Assessment will be giving to cater to the needs of each children. If you have a child who is well verse and speak well in Putonghua then that child will be in path 3 instead of path 1 regardless of grade level.
Pathway One for non-native students, Pathway 2 for students with some Chinese background, Pathway 3 for students with strong Chinese background.
I heard from some parents that Pathway 3 is really tough. And some local parents would go down a notch for their child to take Pathway 2. But it is really up to you if you want your child to be fluent in the language from aspect of listening, speaking, reading and writing.