Since 2006, the Committee of 100 has been the driving force behind the Mandarin in Schools (MIS) committee, which has worked to bring quality Mandarin language and Chinese cultural curriculum and programs to Southern California public schools, including the Los Angeles Unified School District. MIS was first convened by the Committee six years ago and is composed of community leaders, representatives from several Los Angeles school districts, and administrators, academic leaders and faculty from UCLA, Cal State Los Angeles, and Loyola Marymount University.

The group has decided to focus on public schools in the City and County of Los Angeles, where racial minority students from low to moderate income households comprise the majority of the student population.

MIS has worked with elementary, middle and high schools to develop feeder programs so that students can study Mandarin for six to eight years and enjoy continuity in Mandarin language instruction. Another activity of MIS has been to encourage schools to offer more Chinese history and culture courses. The committee also is attempting to address the critical shortage of qualified Mandarin credentialed teachers by providing support to assist teachers to acquire their Bilingual, Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development credential so that they can teach Mandarin.

This fall, the MIS committee will host its second annual conference to bring together over 100 educators and administrators across several Los Angeles and Orange County unified school districts. The purpose of the conference is to create a forum to share instructional practices and provide a networking opportunity for educators.