Im one of them, It really is amazing how nice everyone has been. Tons of people teaching Mandarin and every interaction Ive seen has been nothing short of pleasant.
At my kids' school, they learn Mandarin (they just call it 'Chinese') one semester each year from first through fourth grade - the teacher is really good.
After that, they can choose their own foreign language but Chinese is offered all the way through 12th grade. My kids (6th and 4th) don't know much, but the fact they're exposed to it as a really good thing, IMO.