Eugene schools consider Mandarin Chinese program

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – The Eugene School District is looking to implement a Mandarin Chinese language immersion program next school year.

The Register-Guard reports (http://bit.ly/2ho5l4h) that the program would first be offered to students in kindergarten and first grade at Crest Elementary School. District officials say the program would expand to the next highest grade level each year until a full K-12 program is established.

If approved, the Mandarin Chinese course offerings would be the district’s fourth language immersion program. The district already offers programs in Spanish, French and Japanese.

District officials estimate it’ll cost about $221,000 to get the Chinese program up and running in the 2017-18 school year, mostly for salaries.

The school board is set to vote on whether to begin implementation of the program at a future school board meeting.

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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com