Does anyone working in the school system possess a functioning brain? Michelle Malkin points to a report from The Oregonian that Oregon public schools are using supplies and curriculum provided by the Mexican government. Seriously.

Oregon is counting on a new tool to educate Spanish-speaking students across state schools: Mexico’s curriculum.

Already in place at three Oregon high schools, the programs aims to use textbooks, a detailed online Web site, DVDs and CDs provided for free by the Mexican government to teach math, science and even U.S. history to Spanish speakers in Oregon.

Conversations are under way between the Oregon Department of Education and Mexico’s secretary of public education to align the curriculums of Oregon and Mexico so many courses in Mexico will be valid here and vice versa. The innovative move puts Oregon on par with other educators nationwide who have launched similar ventures in Yakima; San Diego, Calif.; and Austin, Texas.

This is a fricken belated April Fools Day joke, right? Instead of teaching the kids English, our national language, they’ll teach them in Spanish.

In Washington, nearly 30 schools have already implemented Mexico’s curriculum into the classrooms. Yakima School District was among the first, drawing educators from across the state who traveled to the schools to learn about the new method.

“We’re seeing them score higher,” on standardized tests, said Jorge Herrera, the coordinator who manages the programs for the state. “And more are staying in school.” Annually, staffing the programs in Yakima schools costs an estimated $60,000, he said.

In Oregon, it may be too soon to measure cost because the program is in its infancy. Learning materials are free, but school districts must pay for staff. So far, two computer servers used to support Mexico’s Web site cost the state about $10,000 to install and about $2,200 annually to maintain.

One of the biggest challenges will be finding more Spanish-speaking instructors, Burk said. State education figures show that about 15 percent of Oregon students are Latino, compared with 2 percent of teachers.

Now, don’t misunderstand the report. These aren’t Spanish-speaking Americans even giving the classes.

Ariana Bernuy walked up to her teacher with a handful of paper. “¿Los boto? ” (Do I throw them away?) she asked.

“Sí” responded Alejandra Esquivel, a new teacher at Stansbury Elementary School, 3050 S. 2700 West.

For students such as Bernuy, starting the school year with a bilingual teacher such as Esquivel is a welcome relief. “She speaks my language and because I’ve recently arrived, she can translate what I don’t understand,” Bernuy said in Spanish.

Esquivel is one of 10 teachers hired this summer from Mexico as part of an agreement between Utah and the Mexican Ministry of Education.

The state’s new visiting teacher program allows the teachers to legally work in public schools in “high-need” areas for up to three years. Their salaries and benefits are the same as Utah teachers who have similar experience, according to the agreement.

Greaaaaat. Sovereignty? What sovereignty. National identity? What national identity? Kids actually learning to communicate in the most-widely spoken language? Why, when we can adjust our own lives to fit their wants?