KOTA Territory NewsChildren First: Gillette High School looks into teaching Chinese

Children First: Gillette High School looks into teaching Chinese

A KOTA Territory school wants to prepare its students to tap into China's coal market.

According to the World Coal Association, China is the globe's biggest coal consumer. And even though Wyoming coal companies don't export much to China, that could soon change.

"We offer Spanish in our district, we offer German," said Gillette High School associate principal Jim Howard.

But the school could soon be adding Chinese to that list.

"If you had that language, even some experience with it or some interest in it," Howard said, "it might open doors of opportunity."

"I want to go into business," said CCHS junior JesseRay, "and so that's a very big aspect is expansion in areas such as China"

The school district is focusing on coal.

And while Wyoming Mining Association executive director Marion Loomis said there isn't a whole lot of Campbell County coal making its way to China, the potential exists.

"If an engineer has Chinese, even a little bit of it, it would just open a lot of doors," Howard said.

But bringing a new language like Chinese to the school presents unique obstacles.

One of the big problems you have with starting a Chinese program isn't something you see with Spanish or German; it's simply finding a teacher.

There isn't a single certified Chinese teacher in Wyoming, which will probably mean going to a larger urban area to find one. And Howard noted that could be tough.

"Someone who may have taught in New York City or San Francisco or L.A. Might think, 'Why do I want to go to Wyoming?'" he said.

Even if you can find a teacher, there's the challenge of getting kids interested.

"I feel that we would need a very motivated, very dedicated group to learn a language like that," admitted Dakota Wayne, a junior.

That's one reason the district is looking at possibly starting the program in 7th grade instead of 9th.

Howard said the idea is still in the exploration phase.

Students will see the class in course catalogs, but it's mostly just to gauge interest.