West County Mandarin School was started by Eric Peterson in 2017.To get its first     1     students, Peterson personally introduced the school to parents at local shopping centers. From his efforts, the number of students has grown to 530 this year. "We've seen a growing     2     interest in learning Chinese. More students are      3      next fall. We plan to offer two more       4       classes," says Peterson.

To provide cultural experiences, Peterson began organizing trips to China in 2018.He recently     5     returned from taking 50 students on a cultural tour around Beijing. During their      6      visit last month, students lived with local Chinese families. "The families are really      7      nice and treated our students well," says Peterson.

"These   8   experiences open students' eyes to China's rapid development. Parents find them    9      helpful for their children's future. We keep costs manageable so more families can      10      afford such journeys," says Peterson. "We're planning another for this summer."