Because interest in Chinese instruction, as well as in languages such as Arabic, Korean, Yoruba, Urdu, and Hindi, is new in the K-12 context, teacher educators do not have many established settings where teacher candidates can observe and engage in best practice. At Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with the support of grant funds from the Freeman Foundation and STARTALK, the authors have developed an innovative model to prepare Chinese language teachers. Through collaborations with local school districts, they work with directors of summer camps to provide the much-needed, real-world practicum settings where teacher candidates can make the all important link from theory to practice. For the past two summers, they have collaborated with the Highland Park School District, located in a small, diverse community in central New Jersey minutes away from Rutgers campus. With the support of District Superintendent Dr. Frances Wood, Assistant Superintendent Karen Lewis, Former Project Manager of Community Programs, Leslie Hodes, and Camp Director, David Luxenburg, the authors have provided Chinese instruction to more than 200 elementary-aged children and professional development for twenty-three future Chinese teachers. The program has proven to be successful for all. The teacher candidates benefit from this carefully scaffolded practicum experience, and the district and students benefit through their exposure to the Chinese language and culture. In this article, the authors describe their model and explain its benefits in more detail so that other teacher educators and school districts may choose to replicate or adapt this model as they work to offer critical needs languages and prepare teachers. (Contains 5 online resources.)