Unique Summer Exchange Program in the US welcomes students from China
Eighteen students and two teachers from China spent two weeks this summer in Madison County as part of a first of its kind exchange program.
Superintendent Dr. Allen McCannon has worked on this project for several years, according to Brittan Ayers, Madison County School System’s secondary curriculum director, and McCannon went to China himself to establish the agreements and details of the program.
While there, he was approached by ACEP (American Cultural Exchange Programs) about building an exchange program between a Chinese school district and Madison County.
Following Dr. McCannon’s visit, a delegation of Chinese education and finance officials from the Binzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone in China came to Madison County in the spring. They toured Madison County’s schools and met with leaders and teachers about the possibility of becoming a “sister school district.”
During this visit, Dr. McCannon and the superintendent in Binzhou reached a “friendly agreement” about a short-term summer exchange program, Ayers said. In early June, five Madison County teachers; Andy Felt, Melody Christian, Joe Moore, Lori Ober and Quowanna Mattox, traveled to China to visit the Binzhou School District.
Ayers pointed out that the trip was financed entirely by the Binzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone and the teachers stayed with host families in China. During the two weeks they were in China, they observed and taught classes, interacted with teachers and leaders and learned more about the culture. They also met some of the students who would be traveling to Madison County in July for the summer exchange program.
“The five teachers who traveled to China, along with Sonia Coile, played an integral role in planning the camp activities for the exchange program,” Ayers noted. The Binzhou school district implemented an application process and from that selected 18 students and two teachers to travel to the U.S.
Though the trip was financed by the school system in China, the Madison County Board of Education did set aside a small amount of money to fund the teacher stipends and camp supplies and incidentals for the summer exchange program.
In addition, both Chinese and Madison County students were able to participate in the School Nutrition Department’s Summer Feeding Program for breakfast and lunch, which provided free meals. Fifteen host families also volunteered to provide the Chinese students with lodging, meals and after-school activities.
The school system hopes to continue to grow the summer exchange program, as well as the possibility of other exchange activities in the future. One of those is working on the opportunity for Madison County students to visit China in a “short-term exchange program,” possibly as early as spring break, Ayers said.
Other future projects that are being explored include the possibility for longer-term (such a semester, or even a year) where county teachers would teach in China, while Chinese teachers taught in Madison County. In addition, school officials are in the exploration stages for a longer-term student exchange program where Chinese students could be able to participate in a year-long study abroad program here.
McCannon said Ayers not only helped to coordinate the visit to China, but planned the entire camp program for both the Chinese and Madison County students while they were here. “She did an outstanding job,” McCannon said.
While here the students visited Jubilee Partners in Comer, Moon Farms, Watson Mill State Park, UGA, Memorial Park Zoo and other local places of interest.
“The Madison County/Binzhou Exchange Program has been a wonderful experience for the children of our school system as well as my family,” teacher Andy Felt said. “Five teachers (including Felt) participated in the teacher exchange portion of the program for 17 days in June, and then 18 students and two teachers from Binzhou, China came (here) soon afterwards for two weeks.”
Felt said Ayers organized the day camp for the Chinese students and the children of the host families where students took Chinese and English language classes and computer/robotics programming classes in the morning, and had science, sports, and other activities such as visits to local farms and parks in the afternoons.
“When our teachers visited China, we stayed with very hospitable host families and taught in their schools,” Felt said. “The students there were very excited to meet us and were eager to learn about life in America, while we were able to learn about the Chinese education system. We taught thousands of students while we were there, with each of us visiting several classrooms a day and sometimes groups as large as 400. I conducted a few science lessons for 7th graders, but mostly taught students in grades 1 through 3 about wildlife native to Georgia and other aspects of American culture. We also had the opportunity to sightsee a little, including a visit to Tienanmen Square and the Great Wall.”
Once the Chinese children came to Madison County, Felt and his family hosted two 15-year old Chinese boys, Li Ruilin and Kang Hoachen. “This was a great experience for all of us,” Felt said. “All of our host families did a great job at making the students feel welcome, and the students from both countries had a great time while learning. We hope to see this program continue and grow in the coming years.”
Felt said a group of Madison County students will have the opportunity to visit China in the spring of 2017.
You can view the complete story at this website: http://www.madisonjournaltoday.com/archives/8543-guid.html
