Kansas City, Mo. ? A suburban Kansas City-area school district plans to add Chinese to its curriculum next year, making it the third area school system to teach the language.

“We just can’t ignore the whole area (East Asia) anymore,” said Dan Lumley, director of curriculum and instruction for the Lee’s Summit School District. “It’s just unfair to the kids.”

On the Kansas side of the Kansas City area, the Shawnee Mission and Olathe districts teach the language. According to the education departments in Kansas and Missouri, the only other district to teach Chinese in those states is St. Louis’ public schools.

The Kansas Consortium for Teaching About Asia at Kansas University is promoting Chinese instruction in Kansas City-area schools. It is arranging for Chinese exchange teachers for the Lee’s Summit and Shawnee Mission districts.

The Shawnee Mission teacher, Hongli Wang, has been there since September, and the Lee’s Summit’s teacher is expected to be there in January.

Tanya Low, who has taught Chinese in the Shawnee Mission district for about 12 years, said Wang was a big help.

“I can get their attention and get them focused,” Low said of her students. “I cannot give them authenticity.”

Lumley said that without the exchange teacher, the Lee’s Summit district couldn’t add the Chinese class.

District officials said the course has generated a lot of interest and could serve 150 students. Shawnee Mission has 23 students, Olathe has five, and St. Louis has 122.

Those who believe teaching Chinese is important point out that trade between the U.S. and China is growing. U.S. trade with China exceeded $230 billion last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, trailing only Canada and Mexico.

It’s difficult to learn. To read Chinese, one must know thousands of characters, because the language does not have an alphabet. And when speaking Chinese, tone can determine meaning. For example, “ask” and “kiss” are pronounced the same in Chinese but are differentiated by tones.

But Low’s students said knowing the language will give them an advantage when they apply to college or begin their careers.

“It opens up a whole new world of opportunities,” said Daniel Bernard, a sophomore at Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kan. “It definitely sets you apart.”

John Taube, a sophomore at Shawnee Mission South who hopes to become an international businessman, said knowing Chinese would distinguish him. “It gives you a head start,” Taube said.