HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) — Oregon school district officials say demand for Chinese teachers is high as demand for the learning the language increases.
The Oregonian reports there are a total of only 17 licensed Chinese teachers in the state.
The Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission does not offer a specific Chinese language endorsement as it does other languages, which officials say has kept universities from developing programs to prepare those teachers.
The Oregon Virtual Education Center is offering instruction online to help meet demand.
The online program’s teachers are mostly recent graduates and work out of offices near Beijing University in China.
