Spring 2014
EXCHANGES The CEI Newsletter
Updates from The China Exchange Initiative Greetings from the China Exchange Initiative! We are thrilled to report the successful completion of the 2013-2014 U.S.-China Administrator Shadowing Project. We had three groups of administrators traveling to China this year from Massachusetts, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. While both the Oregon and Pennsylvania groups hosted their counterparts during the fall of 2013, we switched things around for the Massachusetts group, which traveled in April and will host this coming fall.
In this issue: • Updates from the China Exchange Initiative
During the 2014-2015 school year we will have two ASP cohorts from Arizona and Oregon. Seven participants have been selected to partake in what will be our third consecutive year working with Colin Cameron at the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators.
• Review of ASP, Spring We are very excited to announce that this will be our first 2013 year working in Arizona in collaboration with Dr. Debra Duvall, • ASP 2014-2015 Program Participants
Executive Director of the Arizona School Administrators, Inc. Many schools in Arizona are at the cutting edge of global trends in education and several districts have already initiated Mandarin programs in their schools. We have selected seven school districts to participate in our inaugural cohort.
Oregon ASP Review The Oregon group had partner schools in Shaanxi Province and traveled to Xi’an and Beijing in March. The Oregon cohort arrived in Xi’an at the same time as First Lady, Michelle Obama and her family. While the group never caught a glimpse of the first lady, the excitement and preparations for her visit were seen all over the city. Our adept tour guide quickly adapted the day’s itinerary to avoid the additional security and large crowds. In the morning they visited the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum, marveling at the detail on each soldier
The Oregon ASP cohort
and sheer size of the excavation, and even ran into some members of Ms. Obama’s security team as they were leaving. Next our group went to the city wall, where the red carpet and stage still remained from Ms. Obama’s visit earlier that morning. The group rented bikes and rode along the top of the wall admiring the city below. While in Xi’an the group also visited the Muslim quarter, saw the largest musical fountain in Asia at the Wild Goose Pagoda Square, and attended a performance of music and dance from the Tang Dynasty.
Shadowing Highlight
Bob Stewart (Gladstone, OR) got a taste of more traditional life in China on a trip to Yangling, Shaanxi where he crashed a Chinese wedding, visited the graves of his partner’s parents, and had dinner with a farming family. Bob has signed an MOU with his partner and they hope to quickly establish a student and teacher exchange program between their schools. Left: Superintendent Bob Stewart visits an elementary school with Colin Cameron, Deputy Executive Director at COSA
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Oregon ASP Review The Oregon administrators were formally welcomed to Xi’an by officials from the Shaanxi Education Association for International Exchange at a dumpling banquet celebrating the second year of school partnerships established between Shaanxi and Oregon on this program.
Shadowing Highlight Heather Cordie (Sherwood, OR) had the very unique experience of seeing first hand how special education is taught in China on a visit to the Special Education School of Fugu County. Students there ranged from three years to eighteen years old and each had either a physical or mental handicap. The school was equipped with various modern technologies to help students overcome their disabilities, such as a special wooden dance floor through which deaf students could feel musical vibrations.
Superintendent Heather Cordie pictured in China with her partner Principal Li Jianhua
The lecture series included several talks on the structure and reform of education in Shaanxi Province. Professor Li Hui, Dean of Xi’an International Studies University (XISU), presented an overview of basic education policies and challenges. Professor Liang Zhaoyang, Dean of Principal Training Faculty at Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University spoke about the recruitment and professional development of principals. Mr. Zhang, Principal of the XISU Affiliated Middle School also presented on recruitment, evaluation, and professional development for teachers.
Dianna Veleke (Umatilla, OR) playing the Yangqin
Administrators also visited two schools in the city: No. 89 Middle School and the Shaanxi School of Art. At No. 89, administrators toured the facilities and watched performances by students in grades 7-9 who were happy to take a break from classes while their older classmates were busy studying for the impending exams. At the Shaanxi School of Art, an art centered magnet school, administrators watched dance and music students perform and even got to try their own hand on traditional Chinese instruments.
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Oregon ASP Review On Thursday administrators met with their counterparts and dispersed to their partner districts. After shadowing, they met at the Xi’an North Train station and took a fast train to Beijing, where they visited the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. They also toured a traditional Hutong home and saw a Chinese acrobatics show before finally heading home.
Next Steps Highlight Superintendent Sheldon Berman (Eugene, OR) is the official trailblazer for next-steps in Oregon and is the first from his state to host exchange students from China. A group of twenty students and two teachers from the Elite International Program of the Middle School attached to Xidian University visited Eugene for one week this past March. The Chinese students observed classes and shadowed student ambassadors at Churchill High School, staying with host families in the Churchill community. Eugene Public Schools arranged several group events and outings during their stay. The students hiked Mt. Pisgah, where they had a beautiful view of Eugene and the surrounding area, toured the University of Oregon, and visited the state Capitol.
Students from China enjoying a Churchill basketball game
Their visit also coincided with Churchill’s basketball team competing in the state High School Basketball Championships. Students attended with their host families and while Churchill lost 64-69 to their rival, everyone enjoyed the exciting game. Host families were also honored at the school board meeting. After leaving Eugene, the Chinese students visited Chicago, Boston, and New York. Churchill will start planning a reciprocal visit to China once they have selected a new high school principal.
A student poses with his host family
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Massachusetts and Pennsylvania ASP Review The groups from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania traveled to China in April and were paired with partners in Hebei Province. The group arrived in Beijing and got over their jetlag touring Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Pearl Market before jumping on a high-speed train to Shijiazhuang, Hebei. There they were welcomed by our partners at the International Office of the Hebei Provincial Department of Education, who arranged several lectures and school visits to introduce them to the Chinese education system. On the first day of lectures the Director of Hebei Province’s Basic Education Division, Zeng Chaomin, presented an overview of education in the province to the group before going into detail on educational reforms and challenges. Administrators from the MA and PA ’13-’14 cohort
Shadowing Highlight Rose Bertucci (Natick, MA) partook in her fair share of cultural attractions during her shadowing week. She visited a hot spring, had a massage, toured an ice museum, and was even kissed by a walrus. While paired with a model school, the Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School, she also had a chance to see the discrepancy in rural and urban educational opportunities when she visited two schools in two different rural areas. Rose Bertucci being kissed by a walrus
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Massachusetts and Pennsylvania ASP Review Afterwards they visited the Hebei International Basic School where they observed two classes, one a Chinese class taught to international students from the U.K., Thailand and the U.S. and the other a 10th grade English class. The English teacher previously spent time teaching in the U.S. and had adapted many western teaching methods into her lectures in China, giving the group an excellent idea of how international experiences can benefit their teachers and students.
Shadowing Highlight In Handan, Hebei participants from Pennsylvania were also lucky enough to meet with an exchange student from Ron Griffin’s (ASP ’12’13) school, who was spending the semester at their partner school the Handan No. 1 Middle School. PA administrators pose with an American exchange student After class administrators had time to discuss pedagogical practice with the Chinese teachers before heading to a special Peiking Duck welcome banquet hosted by the Hebei Department of Education. The following day Dr. Yang Yong, Deputy Commissioner of Basic Education for Hebei Province presented on background statistics on enrollment in the province and a lecture about modern challenges to the education system.
Tim Welch (Westford, MA) practices calligraphy at the Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School
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Cheng Qixue, Deputy Director of Personnel Division, then spoke about the recruitment of principals and teachers, and Shi Xiaoyan, Deputy Director of Hebei Normal University, spoke about the selection, training, and evaluation of principals and teachers.
Massachusetts and Pennsylvania ASP Review Shadowing Highlight
Tracey Hippert (Leicester, MA) was paired with the Shijiazhuang No. 4 High School and was very impressed with her partner school’s facilities, including state of the art biology and language labs as well as impressive security provisions.
Tracey Hippert poses with ballet students while visiting an art-centered high school in Shijiazhuang, Hebei
After absorbing all of this new information our group headed to the Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School, a National Model School whose students achieve so highly that 175 of the top students are accepted into universities without having to take the dreaded Gaokao examination. While touring the impressive facilities, they practiced their calligraphy and watched a kindergarten class put on a martial arts performance.
She also visited several schools in the area including a technical vocational high school that had a number of surprising programs including golf training and bar tending. The school is well known for it’s tourism program and even had a 3-D interactive lecture hall where students wearing 3D glasses can give tours of famous attractions in China.
A martial arts class at the Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School
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Massachusetts and Pennsylvania ASP Review Saturday morning administrators met with their partners and dispersed to their individual host schools and districts. After a week of shadowing and living with host families, administrators regrouped and flew to Shanghai where they debriefed one another on their individual experiences. They had a quick look at some local sights including the Party Museum, Shanghai Art Museum, and the historic YuYuan market before heading home.
Food Culture We had adventurous year’s trip!
some rather eaters on this
Administrators from Oregon had their chop stick skills tested on their first day in China with a delicious hot pot lunch. With only small paper napkins to mop up their spills, everyone quickly found on their tablecloth turning into a modernist painting of spots from sauces and dropped bites. By the end of the meal they were in a competition to see whose spot was the messiest. Everyone was amazed to see all the different types of food for sale at markets in Xi’an and Beijing. From tarantulas to snakes the street vendors seemed to have everything imaginable for sale. Heather Cordie (Sherwood, OR) was even daring enough to try a piece of squid on a stick.
Treats for sale in Beijing
Rose Bertucci (Natick, MA) tried several more authentic dishes with her host family including donkey, several types of liver, and carp. Bob Stewart (Gladstone, OR) was impressed by the
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length and diversity in dishes at the elaborate welcome feasts. As one of the more daring eaters, he tried sea snails, chicken feet, and cow stomach. On his blog he writes, “I learned to not ask what it was and simply go by taste.” Dianna Veleke (Umatilla, OR), however, would likely disagree with that advice being unfortunate enough to pop what she thought was a marinated olive into her mouth only to discover it was a raw quail egg intended to be cooked in the hot pot!
2014-2015 U.S.-CHINA ASP Participants Arizona Tamara Addis, Principal Dobson High School, Mesa Public Schools Allison Atkins, COO World School Foundation Cambridge Preparatory Academy, Toltec School District Tsuru Bailey-Jones, Director Asian Pacific American Student Services and Refugee Services Tucson Unified School District Edgar Garcia, Principal Tonopah Valley High School, Saddle Mountain Unified School District #90 Jeff Van Handel, Administrator Casa Grande Union High School District Elaine Jacobs, Principal North Canyon High School, Paradise Valley Unified School District Dr. Paul Tighe, Superintendent Mingus Union High School District #4
Oregon Shirley Burrus, Principal Creswell Middle School R. Michael Carter, Superintendent Rainier School District #13 Rob Hess, Superintendent Lebanon Community Schools Lynn Jackson, Principal Astoria High School Ken Parshall, Assistant Superintendent Salem-Keizer School District Joseph Daniel VonDoloski, Executive Director Logos Public Charter School Mark W. Witty, Superintendent John Day School District #3 9