School May Add Chinese Curriculum, Parents Upset

Parents at a charter school in Matthews planned to meet with board members of the school Tuesday night to discuss their concerns about plans to add a Chinese language program to the curriculum.

The board of Socrates Academy on Weddington Road has applied for grant that would bring Chinese teachers to the school through a program coordinated by North Carolina State University.

The teachers would be selected and paid for by the Chinese government.

"That's absolutely one of our concerns. What is the content of the program?" said John Nivens, a parent with two children at Socrates Academy.

Nivens said he and other parents are also concerned that adding a second language to the program where students are already getting intensive instruction in Greek could overload them.

"I don't think there's been enough research done about the effects it's going to have on our children," Nivens said. The school scheduled the meeting in response to parents' questions.

"You certainly can understand parents' concerns. This is a choice school," said Janis Dellinger-Holton, the school's principal. She said the full board will attend the meeting in the school's gymnasium.