Hinoki International School

Last updated
Hinoki International School
ひのきインターナショナルスクール
Information
Type Charter
MottoTo provide Japanese and American students with an opportunity to learn from each other, and become bilingual, bicultural, and globally-minded individuals.
Established2010
Faculty10
EnrollmentClosed

Hinoki International School (previously known as the Japanese American School of South East Michigan or JASSEM) was a two-way Japanese-English language immersion elementary school in Livonia, Michigan in Metro Detroit which opened in 2010 as a charter school. It closed in 2015 before a planned opening of a new Farmington Hills, Michigan campus.

Contents

History

Hinoki International School was established in 2010 as the Japanese American School of South East Michigan (JASSEM, or 南東ミシガン日米学校), by Ted Delphia, co-owner of Himawari Preschool and head of the Michigan Japanese Bilingual Education Foundation (MJBEF), a 501(c)(3) public charity. The elementary school was started as a charter school with Livonia Public Schools (LPS) as charter authorizer and landlord. Using over $500,000 in Federal Charter school program grants and input from Eastern Michigan University's World Language Department, Hinoki enrolled 13 students in 2010 in a single kindergarten class. They grew to 133 students in grades K-3 in 2013-14. The school was originally housed in the former McKinley Elementary School, [1] and later moved to the former Taylor Elementary School. [2]

Hinoki had 185 students enrolled for 2014-15 when it received notice that MJBEF would be withdrawing as educational service provider. Randy Liepa, the then-superintendent of Livonia schools, asked the board of the Hinoki school to merge with the Livonia School District. In May 2014, the Hinoki board voted to follow the recommendations of Hinoki parents and the PTO, and remain a charter school while entering into talks with LPS about possibly becoming part of that district in 2015-16. [3]

Liepa declined to renew the lease of the Livonia school facility. [1] On July 28, [2] Livonia Public Schools (LPS) revoked the Hinoki charter since the charter school had no building. [1] LPS then opened a district-operated school-of-choice elementary school with a similar program, called the Niji-Iro Japanese Immersion Elementary School, located at the former Hinoki campus. Anne Hooghart, the president of the school board, accused Delphia of conspiring with LPS to take control of the school without the board's consent, while Delphia denied this. [4] Karen Smith of O & E Media wrote that "Hinoki stakeholders viewed the Livonia board's actions as a hostile takeover of their school, recruiting teachers and students without the Hinoki board's knowledge." [5]

Hinoki was granted a new charter from Saginaw Valley State University, and moved to 29230 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan, and began enrolling students in Kindergarten through 5th grade for fall 2015. [5]

In June 2015, the building in which Hinoki planned to open was sold to a private school, Aim High School. Hinoki was required to vacate the building by October 2015. [6] On September 11, 2015 the Hinoki School board voted to dissolve. [7]

Curriculum

Hinoki's Japanese-English immersion program was a blend of both Japanese pedagogy and Michigan’s educational standards within the framework of a dual language classroom. Each class was taught by a pair of teachers—one native speaker of English and one native speaker of Japanese—who took turns instructing the students in all core subjects areas, alternating the language of instruction for each lesson. The student body included both native Japanese speakers and native English speakers so that each students had a "target language" in which he/she can strengthen his/her skills with the help of his/her teachers and peers. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farmington Hills, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills is located roughly 22 miles (35.4 km) from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 83,986, making it the second-largest community in Oakland County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livonia, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Livonia is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Livonia is located roughly 20 miles (32.2 km) northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 95,535. Originally organized as Livonia Township in 1835, it incorporated as a city in 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarenceville School District</span> School district in Michigan

Clarenceville School District is a school district headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, in the Detroit metropolitan area. Founded in 1837, it serves portions of Livonia, Farmington Hills, and Redford. As of 2006, the district has approximately 1940 students, 271 teachers/staff and 10 bus drivers. Schools in the district are Clarenceville High School, Clarenceville Middle School, Botsford Elementary and Grandview Elementary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milwaukee Public Schools</span>

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of the 2015–16 school year, MPS served 75,568 students in 154 schools and had 9,636 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. The Milwaukee Public Schools system is one of the largest in the United States by enrollment. A publicly elected school board, the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, provides direction and oversight, with a superintendent heading the organization's administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Public Schools</span> School district in Nebraska, USA

Lincoln Public Schools was founded in 1923, and is the second largest public school district in the U.S. state of Nebraska, located in the heart of the Great Plains. The school district of over 40,000 students is home to more than 60 schools and programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Farmington High School</span> Public high school in Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States

North Farmington High School is a public high school located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The school was established in 1961 and, as of the 2019–2020 school year, educates a student body of over 1300. The principal is Joseph Greene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Public Schools Community District</span> Public school system of Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that serves Detroit, Michigan and high school students in Highland Park, Michigan. The district, which replaced the original Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in 2016, provides services to approximately 50,000 students, making it the largest school district in the state. The district has its headquarters in the Fisher Building of the New Center area of Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrison High School (Michigan)</span> Former high school in Michigan, United States

Harrison High School was a four-year secondary institution located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. It was part of the Farmington Public School District serving students from the cities of Farmington, Farmington Hills, and a portion of West Bloomfield Township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livonia Public Schools</span> School district in Michigan

Livonia Public Schools (LPS) is a public school district in southeastern Michigan Metro Detroit area, serving most of the city of Livonia and the northernmost portions of Westland. The district was formed in 1944 with other areas consolidated into it later.

The Grand Rapids Public Schools is a public school district serving Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Farmington Public Schools is a public school district headquartered in Farmington, Michigan, in southern Oakland County in Greater Detroit. As of the 2020–2021 school year, the district serves 8,995 students. It provides services for students in Farmington, Farmington Hills, and a portion of West Bloomfield. The district has a total staff of 1,380, making it the second largest employer in the Farmington-Farmington Hills area.

Eugene School District (4J) is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of two school districts that serve the city of Eugene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamtramck Public Schools</span> School district in Michigan, United States

Hamtramck Public Schools (HPS) is a public school district based in the city of Hamtramck, Michigan (USA) in Greater Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highland Park Schools</span> School district

Highland Park Schools, officially the School District of the City of Highland Park, is a school district headquartered in Highland Park, Michigan, United States in Greater Detroit. The district serves the city of Highland Park, a total of 2.98 square miles (7.7 km2) of land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inkster Public Schools</span> Place in Michigan, USA

Inkster Public Schools (IPS), officially School District of the City of Inkster, was a school district headquartered in Inkster, Michigan in Metro Detroit. It served most of Inkster and a small portion of Westland.

The Japanese School of Detroit (JSD) is a Saturday-only Japanese supplementary educational school in Metro Detroit. It is often called "Ringo Kai." As of December 2011 it has almost 800 students. The school office is located in Novi Meadows Elementary School, which is the class location of the preschool and elementary school levels. Middle and high school classes are held at Novi High School.

In 2002, there were 6,413 people of Japanese origin, including Japanese citizens and Japanese Americans, in the Wayne-Oakland-Macomb tri-county area in Metro Detroit, making them the fifth-largest Asian ethnic group there. In that year, within an area stretching from Sterling Heights to Canton Township in the shape of a crescent, most of the ethnic Japanese lived in the center. In 2002, the largest populations of ethnic Japanese people were located in Novi and West Bloomfield Township. In April 2013, the largest Japanese national population in the State of Michigan was in Novi, with 2,666 Japanese residents. West Bloomfield had the third-largest Japanese population and Farmington Hills had the fourth largest Japanese population.

Sundai Michigan International Academy, affiliated with the Sundai Center for International Education, is located in Novi, Michigan, in Metro Detroit. The school's purpose is to prepare Japanese children who have lived in the United States for a long time for a return to Japan, and to assist newly arrived Japanese children who have no fluency of English. As of 2008 it was the only Japanese-style year-round school within the State of Michigan; in addition to a day school program, the school has after-school and weekend classes.

Oxford Community Schools is a school district headquartered in Oxford, Michigan.

International Charter Academy of Georgia is a charter elementary school in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The school is directly chartered by the State of Georgia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Smith, Karen. " .Livonia district eyes charter school" (). The Livonia Observer . June 18, 2010. Retrieved on March 4, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "New school year opens new chapter for Japanese school" (). Hometown Life . September 3, 2014. Retrieved on October 18, 2014. Alternate page Archived 2014-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Minutes of Hinoki Board of Directors Meetings. "" May 8, 2014.
  4. Dixon, Jennifer (2014-08-15). "Livonia school district's decision to revoke charter draws ire". Detroit Free Press . Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  5. 1 2 Smith, Karen. "Hinoki International School to reopen under new charter" (Archive). O&E Media. February 17, 2015. Retrieved on April 17, 2016. Alternate location at Cincinnati.com
  6. Mueller, Nathan. "Parents reeling from closure of Schoolhouse Montessori" (Archive). O&E Media. July 5, 2015. Retrieved on April 17, 2016.
  7. "2015-09-11 Hinoki Board Mtg Minutes.pdf". docs.google.com. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  8. "New Hinoki School in Livonia Blending Languages and Cultures". WDIV-TV (Click on Detroit). July 28, 2011.

Further reading