Ann Marie Gunter; World Languages Consultant
Program Description
North Carolina Public Schools serve approximately 1.5 million students in grades K–12, in 115 school districts and over 160 charter schools. Enrollment in Chinese language instruction has grown significantly in traditional and immersion classrooms as well as online. This profile describes the growth of Chinese language instruction in the state and the steps taken by the State Board of Education, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and other state partners that have contributed to that growth.
In the 2005–2006 school year, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction was asked by a US senator to provide a summary of Chinese instruction available in public schools in the state. The answer was 323 students in two districts; in 2014, there were 12,273 students, and Chinese has the 4th highest enrollment of the 17 languages offered. Chinese immersion programs are offered in 10 programs in 7 dis