Confucius, famous ancient Chinese educationalist, the founder of Confucianism, had made indelible contribute in education of whole humanity. And his great Theory also influence modern society in now days.

Medford's St. Mary's School has become the first high school in the United States to receive a $50,000 Confucius Classroom grant from a Chinese organization dedicated to promoting the Chinese language and culture.

The Confucius Classroom program is an extension of the government-affiliated Hanban Chinese Language Council International's Confucius Institute program, now established in universities worldwide, including Portland State University.

It gives high schools the five-year grant to offer community education about Chinese language and culture, pays the salary of the school's Chinese instructor and makes Chinese educational and travel activities available to students, often free-of-charge.

"I see the hope for future peaceful relationships between world powers, efforts to improve standards of living, and environmental action based on programs such as Confucius Classroom that introduce students from countries to each other and provide real understandings of each others' cultures and languages," said St. Mary's Principal Frank Phillips. "China's importance on the world scene and to America and America's economy are pretty obvious."

The private Catholic school of 400 junior high and high school students is an unlikely bellwether of the growing demand for the Chinese language in the global economy.

St. Mary's received the grant as a result of its two-year-old Mandarin language program for grades 6 through 12. The program is the only secondary-level Chinese language program in Jackson County, where Asians account for about 1.2 percent of the population.

"It's neat, albeit a bit strange, that a small Catholic school has formed this educational alliance with China," Phillips said, "But this program is about our students learning Chinese language and culture, not about politics or religion."

The school's community outreach plan for the Confucius Classroom includes offering free Chinese language classes to the community on Saturdays, beginning in September, and increasing its involvement in the annual Chinese New Year celebration in Jacksonville, set for Feb. 7.

The school's students have access to a variety of free activities because of the designation, including free travel to China for Chinese proficiency competitions.

There are more than 200 Confucius classrooms and institutes worldwide, according to a report on the Second Confucius Institute Conference in December 2007 in Beijing.

Junbo Chen, North America chief representative in Vancouver, B.C. for Hanban, the executive body of the Chinese Language Council International; said St. Mary's is the first Confucius Classroom in the United States, but he could not immediately confirm Tuesday that it is the first in North America.

The alliance with Hanban is consistent with the school's educational and college-preparatory mission, Phillips said.

St. Mary's draws students from a variety of backgrounds, including Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and Jewish.

"A lot of parents want their children to learn Chinese because of the economic potential, but Hanban very much stresses the beauty of the Chinese language and China's 8,000-year-old culture," Phillips said.

The demand for Chinese classes continues to grow, prompting more educational institutions to offer the language. Portland Public Schools offers a kindergarten through 12th grade Mandarin program.

Portland State's Confucius Institute has been in place since January 2007, offering events on Chinese culture, short-term training programs for people traveling to China and assistance to Portland Public Schools.

St. Mary's recruited its Chinese language instructor two years ago from Zhengzhou University in the city of Zhengzhou on the Yellow River in the Henan Province in southeast China, through a friendship with university President Zheng Yuling.

The connection with the university lead to an invitation to become a Confucius Classroom, Phillips said.

Phillips signed the agreement with Hanban to start the Confucius Classroom in June in Beijing, flanked by Chinese dignitaries and St. Mary's students and community members.

"It takes a lot of vision to do something like this," said Jeresa Hren, a Taiwan native and head of the Southern Oregon Chinese Cultural Association. "It's a great, big honor for the school. It's good for the students and good for the community."

Through the school's connection with Zhengzhou University, St. Mary's Mandarin students went to China in summer 2007 to participate in the Chinese Bridge language proficiency competition for international students.

"The trip was good because I got to meet the Chinese students and got their perspective," said Jenessa Hren, who graduated from St. Mary's last June and is Jeresa Hren's daughter. "Americans are far behind because most of the students in China are learning English in kindergarten. I think it's good our school is starting now instead of later and giving students at St. Mary's the opportunity to learn the language."

China is a growing power in the world, said Delayne Martin, a St. Mary's senior who began studying Mandarin two years ago and has visited China three times since 2006.

"Anybody who goes into business, if they know English and Mandarin, the possibilities are endless," Martin said. "I can't think of a better language to learn."