HOUSTON – The Houston ISD school board has approved the creation of a new language immersion magnet school that would teach students Mandarin Chinese.
Mandarin is the most widely-spoken language in the world. With China a growing trading partner with Texas and the United States, the move is a nod toward preparing Houston students for being competitive participants.
The district already has a number of Chinese studies programs, but the new school would take the learning even further.
“It’s very important that we teach our students to be able to communicate in that language, and I think the Chinese people especially appreciate western faces speaking their language and understanding their culture and their customs,” said Kolter Elementary magnet coordinator Dottie Lawrence.
Kolter already includes Mandarin studies.
Additionally, some studies suggest different parts of the brain are engaged when learning Chinese, which can offer academic benefits for some students.
Paul Pass, of the Asia Society, said, “students that learn Mandarin and then they go on to other ventures, especially with mathematics and sciences … they actually perform better in those areas.”
When approved, students could begin attending the new magnet school as early as next fall.
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