Cowboy State Daily, Dale Killingbeck

January 27, 2025

Casper Elementary School Is Only Public School In State To Offer Mandarin In Dual Language Immersion

Paradise Valley Elementary School in Casper is the only public school in Wyoming that offers Mandarin Chinese in a dual-language immersion setting where students spend half the day learning that language and the other half in English.

CASPER — At a recent Paradise Valley Elementary School open house, Michael and Ruth Capshaw, and their 4-year-old daughter Lyra were excited about the potential for her to start learning to speak Mandarin.

They were greeted by native-speaking Chinese teachers in the immersion classroom and on the walls were Chinese characters next to words and cartoon graphics. A crafted Chinese dragon model sat on a top of a bookcase.

The Casper elementary represents the only public school in Wyoming that gives parents an option to have their child taught Mandarin in a dual-language immersion setting where students spend half the day learning the language and the other half in English.

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