Favian Campos, 6, is advanced for his age. When his father told him that he couldn't get a certain toy because the store was out of stock, he didn't write a letter to Santa Claus, but addressed one to a factory in China instead.

``The only thing I know about China is that they make toys there,'' he said.

Favian is about to learn a lot more. He is enrolled in Somerset Academy, which houses the Integrated Science and Asian Culture Academy charter school, the first bilingual Mandarin Chinese school in South Florida.

Beginning with the first class of 25 first-graders, students' days will be split: in the mornings, they will receive instruction in English in typical subjects like math and language arts; in the afternoons, they will review the same material in Mandarin.

There is no cost to attend the school, 5878 SW 68th St., which opened in August. The application process starts in January, and is first come, first served. If there are more applicants than spaces, a lottery will determine which students can enroll.

Mandarin is the official language of China and is spoken by roughly one-fifth of the world's population.

The other students at Somerset -- about 475 students in grades 1 through 6 -- will follow a Spanish/English bilingual curriculum, but can take Mandarin classes after school.

Elizabeth Weiss, president of the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council in San Francisco, said about 30 schools have popped up around the country as the demand for Mandarin immersion programs has grown. Additionally, the U.S. State Department has made grants available to schools that teach ``critical languages,'' such as Mandarin.

``There has been this real boom starting six or seven years ago, and I think what's pushing it is the realization that teaching children languages when they're young, it's like second nature. They just pick it up,'' she said. ``If you stick a child in a room where the teacher only speaks Mandarin to them, that child is going to speak Mandarin.''

Weiss said Mandarin immersion programs have been particularly popular with parents who speak a second language, as they know the value of speaking more than one language.

That was the case for James Campos, 36, Favian's father, who said his son speaks English and Spanish.

``He's at the age where he can grasp a third language. Why not Mandarin? It seems like one of these languages that's becoming important for folks to get familiar with,'' he said.

The school is the brainchild of Hui Fang Huang Su, or Angie Su, a professor of mathematics education at Nova Southeastern University. She first came up with the idea in 2007 while brainstorming about the ideal school with a group of local professionals, including a former school administrator, a doctor, and a computer expert.

Everyone was from China or Taiwan; they eventually formed the school's board of directors. They tried, she said, to create a curriculum for a bilingual school with a focus on math and science.

``With science, we don't want to be the second in the world, we want to be the best,'' she said. ``It's about keeping up with the 21st century.''

Sue said the plan is for the school to expand into seventh and eighth grades.

Kim Guilarte Gil, the school's principal, said the program is driven by parents who want their children to be prepared for a world in which China is an emerging superpower.

``Maybe they're in kindergarten now. When they're 40, they are going to thank you for sticking them in the Mandarin program,'' she said.

WLRN reporter Kenny Malone contributed to this report.

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