Mayor Rahm Emanuel and VIPKid announced a partnership to expand Mandarin Chinese learning opportunities through VIPKid’s Mandarin platform, Lingo Bus. VIPKid will offer Chicago Public Schools students free, real-time, online immersive courses, as well as a virtual pen pal program with students in China.

“Chicago finds strength in its diversity, and VIPKid is helping our students with the skills necessary to succeed in an increasingly global world,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Once implemented, this program will encourage and empower Chicago students to connect with their peers in China and build a future together.”

VIPKid, one of the world’s largest education technology companies, announced the three-year partnership at the 2018 Chicago Consular Corps Gala. Once implemented, the program will expand educational ties between Chicago and China through language learning.

“VIPKid is honored to partner with the City of Chicago, World Business Chicago, and the Chicago Public Schools to connect the U.S. and China through Mandarin and English learning among Chinese and American students, especially in Chicago's schools,” said VIPKid Founder and CEO Cindy Mi. “We believe VIPKid and the City of Chicago can provide a model for global educational exchange that will help bridge cultural differences and create globally-minded citizens. We are grateful for Mayor Emanuel’s visionary leadership.”

Currently, more than 10,000 students at 37 schools study Mandarin as a world language at Chicago Public Schools.

“We are excited to partner with VIPKid to offer innovative Mandarin-language resources to provide students across the city with innovative and interactive programming that will help students enhance their language skills,” said CPS CEdO LaTanya D. McDade.

About VIPKid
VIPKid is a global education technology company that connects children with the world’s best teachers for real-time online English immersion learning. VIPKid’s mission is to inspire and empower every child for the future. VIPKid envisions a global classroom that empowers students and teachers through personalized learning, connects cultures across the world and sparks a passion for lifelong learning. It believes that education is not one-size-fits-all, rather, all students are unique and the world is within their reach when connected with great teachers capable of personalizing learning and sparking curiosity.

Founded in 2013 and formally launched in 2014, VIPKid has become China’s market-leading online education startup, attracting investment from Tencent, Coatue Management, Sequoia Capital, Sinovation Ventures, Yunfeng Capital, Matrix Partners, Learn Capital, Northern Light VC and Bryant Stibel, among others. The VIPKid platform currently connects over 500,000 paying students with over 60,000 teachers in the US and Canada. Through its Lingo Bus brand, VIPKid teaches Mandarin Chinese in fully immersive, real-time online courses to children worldwide, taught by China’s top language teachers.

For more information, please visit: www.vipkid.com.