CLEARFIELD – Ni hao.
The greeting, which means hello in Chinese, could soon be heard in the hallways of the Clearfield Area School District after the board granted approval for Mandarin Chinese to be taught there.
The proposal on the Internet-based program came from Glendale Superindendent Dr. Dennis Bruno who told the board that the estimated cost of the program would be $1,000 to $3,000 per district. As of Monday night’s meeting 15 districts had signed onto the program.
Clearfield Area School District’s board voted to send a letter of intent to join the program.
The Glendale School District has been working with the minister of education in Taipei, Taiwan, to coordinate a program to begin for the 2008-09 school year.
Gwen Crandell, the district’s English as a second language instructor, shared some insight with the board prior to the vote.
She said, “Nothing helps learning English like learning another language.”
Crandell also noted that President George Bush placed Chinese at the top of the list in August 2006 as a language deemed critical for national security and commerce.
Where the program will be implemented has yet to be decided.
Foreign languages are currently taught in the high school with German and Spanish being offered.