Hersey principal named top innovator for Chinese program

John Hersey High School Principal Tina Cantrell was recognized Monday for spearheading a program that has brought Mandarin Chinese instruction to Northwest Suburban High School District 214 over the past several years.

The program, paid for by a $1.2 million federal Foreign Language Assistance Program grant, is in its third year, paying for students at John Hersey, Buffalo Grove, Prospect and Rolling Meadows high schools to learn Mandarin Chinese.

Cantrell was recognized with the Innovative Educator Award from the Illinois Principal’s Association at the group’s annual conference in Peoria.

Cantrell said she was shocked by the award, but proud of what the program has brought to District 214.

“I really believe in global education,” she said. “In the 21st century we have to teach the kids to reach out beyond our country and comprehend issues on a larger scale.”

When Cantrell started as principal at John Hersey seven years ago, she noticed enrollment in German was declining and that a school in Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 was teaching Mandarin Chinese to students who would later feed into District 214, primarily Hersey.

She said she was concerned students would get a taste of a new language in middle school and then have to start over in high school.

“It seemed to me that if I’m going to be inheriting these kids, we should have a program that will support their desire for learning,” she said.

Soon after, Cantrell got together with District 25, Harper College, University of Michigan and the Confucius Institute, to write a grant proposal.

Under the five-year grant, the program ties in the language with careers in business and engineering as well as learning about Chinese culture. Some of the money also goes to Harper College, which is developing a Mandarin curriculum for students to continue their studies.

“If you are bilingual in any language, I think you have a huge leg up on other people,” Cantrell said.

Students in the program learn the language, but also about life and culture in China. Students have visited Chinatown in Chicago and a few even went to China with a teacher this summer.

“One of the major appeals is the cultural aspect of it,” said Melissa Moy, who teaches all levels of Mandarin at Hersey High School. “The students are really drawn to the difference between Eastern and Western culture.”

Moy said she thinks students also like the challenge of learning such a difficult language, and Cantrell said they have had good retention rates.

“The very first year one girl almost dropped the class because it was too hard,” Cantrell said. “But by the end of the year she loved it and wanted to be a Chinese teacher.”