Learning Chinese in Oregon

Very interesting article in the Washington Post today about a Mandarin dual-language program in Portland. The program, which is federally funded, starts in elementary school and eventually offers college scholarships for students to take classes in Chinese. It seems like a great idea to teach kids about another part of the world and get them ready to work in a globalized economy, and evidently the parents there agree - more and more non-Asian parents are signing up and there was a waiting list this year for the first time. It will be interesting to see if programs like these help kids do better in school.