Spring 2013
EXCHANGES The CEI Newsletter
Updates from the China Exchange Initiative Greetings from the China Exchange Initiative! We have just returned from our annual spring trip to China, where we connected administrators from the United States with their partner schools in Shaanxi and Hebei Province.
In this issue: •
Updates from the China Exchange Initiative
•
Review of ASP China Trip 2013
•
ASP 2013-2014 Program Participants
•
2012-2013 Exchange Director Training Program
•
Alumni Updates
In 2013-2014 we will focus our efforts on Administrator Shadowing Projects in Pennsylvania and Oregon. In March we will bring eight administrators from Oregon to Shaanxi Province and in April we will bring six administrators from Pennsylvania to Hebei Province. Fall hosting dates are slightly later this year with Chinese administrators arriving on November 11th and shadowing during the week of November 17th through the 22nd. We are very excited to announce our experimental new program, the Exchange Director Training Program. This trial program will teach American teachers and school administrators how to establish and manage student and teacher exchange programs in their schools. We have selected eight participants from Pennsylvania that will travel to China in June 2013.
Review of ASP China Trip 2013 This spring CEI brought 30 American administrators from Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania to China. Oregon was paired with Xi’an in Shaanxi Province, where the Shaanxi Education Association for International Exchange prepared a wonderful week of local tourism and lectures on the Chinese education system presented entirely in English! The group visited the Terracotta Army, toured the Drum and Bell towers, and hunted for souvenirs in the Muslim quarter. Lectures were given at the Xi’an International Studies University (XISU) by Professor Li, dean of the XISU, and Mr. Zhang, principal of the XISU Affiliated Middle School. While touring Xi’an’s No. 66 Middle School administrators learned a traditional fan dance, played ping-pong, and tried their hand at the Erhu, a traditional Chinese instrument. After touring schools, participants also visited the Wild Goose Pagoda Square and enjoyed a dance performance by Shaanxi’s Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Troupe. Oregon administrators pose with a Peiking During the shadowing week, administrators Opera performer especially enjoyed watching teachers deliver model lessons and engage in open and candid discussion with their peers about best practices. Jeff Fuller was also surprised by how openly students at his partner school answered his questions and bonded quite closely with several classes. Outside of classes, participants were also warmly welcomed into the homes of Chinese families from their schools, where many of them learned to make dumplings. Karen Neitzel had one such experience with the Liang family where after an evening of eating good food and listening to their daughter play the pipa, Karen left as an A student presents Jeff Fuller with a gift honorary Aunt. After shadowing, Oregon administrators headed to Beijing for a debriefing and local sightseeing. At first they were surprised by the regional differences in cuisine, but all thoroughly enjoyed the roast duck banquet, a Beijing specialty. Unfazed by the rainy weather, participants climbed the Great Wall, taking photos to show to friends and family back home. Administrators also visited the Birds Nest, Tiananmen Square and saw an acrobat show before heading back to the States. 2
Review of ASP China Trip 2013 Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania were all paired with schools in Hebei Province. The groups spent two days touring in Beijing, visiting the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square. Then drove south to Shijiazhuang, Hebei, where our partners in the International Office of the Hebei Provincial Department of Education arranged a thorough introduction to China’s education system. Professor Zeng, Director of the Basic Education Division, gave a lecture about education reform and challenges in China. Professor Cheng, Deputy Director of the Personnel Division discussed the recruitment of principals and teachers, and Professor Shi from Hebei Normal University gave a lecture on the training and evaluation of principals and teachers. Administrators were amazed by their tour of the Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School, which has an extensive U.S. participants play basket ball with Chinese students campus comprising of four different schools, complete with dorms, modern music studios, high tech robotics and wood working labs, a bowling alley, and greenhouses. Participants also visited the Shijiazhuang Vocational Training Center, which is a technical vocational high school. Students there receive state of the art training in a wide variety of fields. The school also has various partnerships with companies that provide internships and allow companies to commission work from gifted students. Participants then met with their counterparts and headed out for their partner districts. Many were surprised by the high level of active student participation they saw in classes despite the large class sizes. More than half of participants saw such teaching techniques implemented at their partner schools and were impressed by the continuity between the new directions of education reform discussed in lectures and the teaching practices observed in classrooms. As with the Oregon administrators, participants from the East Coast were also excited to learn about model lessons and how professional development for teachers is built into their workload. Overall, teachers were very
Melissa Kapeckas learns Taichi with students at her partner school
eager to learn new techniques and improve their teaching skills and gave very honest feedback to their peers. After a week of shadowing they flew to Shanghai where they debriefed and saw some of the local sites, scavenging for last minute gifts before flying home. 3
ASP 2013-2014 Program Participants Oregon Name
School/District
Kelly Carlisle, Director of High Schools
Salem-Keizer School District, Salem
Debra Connolly, Supervisor of Curriculum
Medford School District 549C, Medford
and Instruction Heather H. Cordie, Superintendent
Sherwood School District, Sherwood
Sandy Husk, Superintendent
Salem-Keizer School District, Salem
Lee W. Loving, Principal
Ridgeview High School, Redmond
Kevin Ricker, Principal
Centennial High School, Gresham
Bob Stewart, Superintendent
Gladstone School District, Gladstone
Dianna Veleke, Principal
Clara Brownell Middle School, Umatilla
Pennsylvania Name
School/District
Burdette Chapel, Principal
Chambersburg Area Senior High School, Chambersburg
Sterling Rayvon Garris, CEO and Principal
Tacony Academy Charter School, Philadelphia
Dr. Beth Ann Haas, Supervisor of Curriculum
Reading Muhlenberg Career & Technology Center,
and Professional Development
Reading
Ernest Holiday, CEO and Principal
Delaware Valley Charter High School, Philadelphia
Katherine Metrick, Superintendent
Kutztown Area School District, Kutztown
Barbara Wolf, Principal
Grandview Elementary School, Chambersburg
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2012-2013 Exchange Director Training Program Participants This summer is also our inaugural trip for our new initiative the Exchange Director Training Program, which trains teachers and administrators to manage student and teacher exchange programs in their schools. We selected seven participants from schools and districts in Pennsylvania that have already participated in the Administrator Shadowing Project. The future directors first met with Peihui Wang and Carolyn Henderson in mid March to learn about the Chinese education system, the basic steps involved in running an exchange program, and to go over expectations and requirements for participation. Then, after successfully navigating the Chinese visa process on their own with the help of local travel agents, they will head to China for a whirlwind ten-day study tour. Starting in Beijing, they will climb the Great Wall, visit the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square, and enjoy an acrobat show. From there they will take a train to Xi’an, Shaanxi, where they will bike along the city wall, visit the Terracotta Warriors, and spend time shopping in the Muslim quarter. Their last stop will be Shijiazhuang, Hebei, where they will meet with their Chinese counterparts and spend the rest of their trip visiting their partner school and discussing the details of their future collaboration and exchange programs. Director Training Name
School/District
Melissa Faro, Gifted and Talented
Mt. Penn Elementary Center
Enrichment Instructor Susan Gentile, Principal
Edgeworth Elementary
Melanie Keiper, English Teacher
Bodine High School of International Affairs
Lizabeth Kozloski, Education Support Staff
Berks County Intermediate Unit
Karen Krisch, Principal
Bellefonte Area Middle School
Ronald Sivillo Jr., Social Studies Teacher,
Upper St. Clair High School
Asian Studies Program Liaison Nicholas Spehar, Teacher
Springdale Jr. and Sr. High School
Teressa Stefanik, Social Studies Teacher
Richland School District
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Alumni Highlights Medfield High School welcomed three Chinese students from the high school affiliated with his partner school, the Bengbu No. 6 Middle School. Students lived with host families and studied at Medfield High for the 2012-2013 school year. Superintendent Bob Maguire also brought the High School’s Jazz combo group to China on an eleven-day tour of Beijing, Anhui, and Shanghai. In Anhui they stayed with host families from their partner school and joined Bengbu No. 6’s band for a big collaborative concert in the main city concert hall. Even the Mayor of Bengbu himself could not stay away! The students prepared pieces from a wide variety of jazz styles to give Chinese audiences a broad introduction to American jazz music. Medfield also commissioned a piece from Chinese Jazz musician Yang Ying to commemorate the partnership between the schools. Prior to the trip, Yang Ying performed and held a master class at Medfield High School, teaching the American students Medfield students perform in China as part of the Spring in the Pearl City concert about Chinese music and helping them improve their musicianship. Students were very excited to learn about traditional Chinese instruments and hear the unique sounds and styles of Chinese music. Students also had several performances in Beijing and Shanghai, including at the Shanghai American School and the JZ Jazz Club. This past February, Susan Borden, who participated in the 2011-2012 ASP in Wisconsin, hosted two teachers and twenty students from her partner school for one week in Germantown. Students lived with host families, attended classes, and toured Chicago and Milwaukee. The visiting students also traveled to New York and Washington D.C. before heading back home. Longmeadow Public Schools is revitalizing its connection with the Yangzhou Affiliated Middle School and plans to send its third delegation of students to China in the spring of 2014. CEI first paired the two schools during the 2002-2003 school year and they have not exchanged students since 2006. Under the guidance of new Superintendent Marie Doyle, a 2005-2006 ASP participant from Concord Carlisle, Longmeadow is increasing Chinese offerings and restarting its student exchange program. Students from Longmeadow plan to visit Beijing and Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province for 10-12 days. 6