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The Naperville Sun reports that School District 203 will offer beginner Chinese language courses starting next school year.

Superintendent Alan Leis said the district added Chinese to its course offerings because Chinese is “a language of the future and of the global marketplace.” He also pointed out that Naperville serves as a “center for the Chinese community” with weekend Chinese language and cultural schools accommodating over 1,000 students in District 203 junior high schools for instruction. I’ve toured two of the schools held in Kennedy Jr. High School, Ray Chinese School and Naperville Chinese School, and was extremely impressed. Students came from at least as far as St. Charles. There are also other schools, as I understand it, at College of DuPage among other non-Naperville local area sites. Both the Ray Chinese School and the Naperville Chinese School pay for the facilities, have minimal business support, and are by and large family supported and volunteer staffed. Both schools are open to anyone, including non-Chinese families. While children learn language skills and are exposed to Chinese culture, some of the parents who aren’t teaching or serving administrative functions participate in martial arts and other activities.

There is an obvious demand for the language training locally, and District 203 students taking Chinese can gain a competitive advantage in their education and job skills for the future, not to mention being enriched by exposure to Chinese. Chinese is likely to be a major language for both business and labor concerns in the future. This is a great offering for local students and a great decision by School District 203!