The China Connection 2006-07

The China Connection program is a new initiative that NAIS developed in collaboration with HANBAN (National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language), an organization funded by the Chinese government. Through this initiative, nine heads of schools from across the United States and one NAIS representative visited China from June 15-25, 2006 to recruit Chinese teachers. 

The goals of the initiative are to advance the teaching of the Mandarin Chinese language in schools in the United States and to provide schools with resources that will assist them in becoming more globally sustainable.


Quick China Connection Links:

• Acculturation Training Schedule
  
• Delegation Itinerary
  

• HANBAN (National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language), Beijing, China 

• Institute of International Education, New York,NY

• Memorandum of Understanding

• Michael Downs' Blog (Mounds Park Academy, St. Paul, MN)

• China Connection Video

  Teachers participated in teaching demonstrations and learned about differences in teaching in the United States vs. teaching in China.  Representatives from HANBAN also provided teachers with various presentations.  For a complete schedule of the training, click here.
  
  Teachers departed from Beijing as a group on August 29th  for the beginning of the 2006-07 school year.
  
   The following individuals made presentations and provided teachers with general information about independent schools, techniques for teaching in independent schools at all levels (elementary, middle and upper schools), American culture and etiquette and J-1 visa responsibilities:

  Other Links:

  • Chinese American International School, San Francisco, CA

  Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Washington, DC

  • Experimental High School attached to Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

  Middle School attached to Northwestern University, Xi'an, China

  Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Beijing, China

  Punahou School, Honolulu, HI

  School Year Abroad, Beijing, China

  Shanghai ZhaBei Experimental Primary School, Shanghai, China

  US Embassy, Beijing, China

  Who participated in the 2006-07 China Connection delegation and how did they register for the program?

  Schools interested in hiring Mandarin Chinese teachers for the 2006-07 school year notified NAIS of their intent to participate. Nine heads of schools have been selected in a random lottery process to participate in the trip to China to recruit teachers, not just for their own schools but for other interested schools from around the United States. They recruited 20 teachers to teach in 18 independent schools in the United States.  The delegation includes the following individuals:

  1. Robert Fine, Head, Admiral Farragut Academy, St. Petersburg, FL
  2. Dwight Wilson, Head, Friends School, Detroit, MI
  3. Richard Rankin, Head, Gaston Day School, Gaston, NC
  4. Michael Downs, Head, Mounds Park Academy, St. Paul, MN

     (This participant wrote a daily blog about the trip.)

  5. Shaun Underhill, Head, St. Alcuin School, Dallas, TX
  6. Alexandra Thurstone, Head, St. Francis High School, Louisville, KY
  7. Lucinda Lee Katz, Head, Marin Country Day School, Corte Madera, CA
  8. Deirdre Cryor, Head, St. Mary's Academy, Englewood, CO
  9. Mo Copeland, Head, Saint George's School, Spokane, WA
  10. Ioana Suciu, Associate Director of Global Initiatives, National Association of Independent Schools, Washington, DC

  
  

  NAIS delegates at Experimental Middle School attached to Beijing Normal University, Beijing, June 16, 2006

  
  Which schools recruited Mandarin Chinese teachers for 2006-07?
  
  The following are the schools that recruited at least one Mandarin Chinese teacher for school year 2006-07:

  • Admiral Farragut Academy, St. Petersburg, FL (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Xue Zhongyou
    
  • Coeus International School, Washington, DC (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Zheng Meng
    
  • Friends School, Detroit, MI (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Jin Min
    
  • Gaston Day School, Gastonia, NC (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Liu Guoting
    
  • Hawken School, Gates Mills, OH (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Chen Jun
    
  • Marin Country Day School, Corte Madera, CA (two teachers)
    Teachers:  Tan Yanping and Wang Fuya
    
  • Mounds Park Academy, St. Paul, MN (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Wang Tian
    
  • Pine Crest School, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (two teachers)
    Teachers:  Shi Chao and Tan Qunying
    
  • Rutgers Preparatory School, Somerset, NJ (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Tao Dijun
    
  • Saint George's School, Spokane, WA (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Chen Hui
    
  • St. Alcuin Montessori School, Dallas, TX (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Luan Fang
    
  • St. Francis Episcopal Day School, Houston, TX (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Chen Juanjuan
    
  • St. Francis High School, Louisville, KY (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Hu Yuyong
    
  • St. Mary's Academy, Englewood, CO (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Chen Lan
    
  • St. Timothy's School, Stevenson, MD (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Teng Shuhong
    
  • The Blake School, Hopkins, MN (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Yan Sheng
    
  • The Cushman School, Miami, FL (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Zhong Wei
    
  • The Grosse Pointe Academy, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI (one teacher)
    Teacher:  Hu Liang

  Who is HANBAN and why are they interested in US independent schools teaching Mandarin?

  HANBAN (National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language) is China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, an NGO (non-governmental organization) that is funded by the Chinese government and supported by the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC (with whom NAIS has been working on this project).  The Chinese government is interested in jump-starting effective teaching of Mandarin Chinese in independent schools because it understands that they are educating future leaders. HANBAN recognizes that NAIS has the authority to negotiate on behalf of its member schools, and it appreciates independent schools’ freedom to choose to participate without a great deal of bureaucratic red tape.
  
  
  Students in sculpture class at the Middle School attached to Northwest University, Xian, June 20, 2006
  

  
  Are there any reports or articles on HANBAN and the teaching of Mandarin Chinese in the United States?

  If you are interested in reading articles about HANBAN and/or the teaching of Mandarin Chinese in the United States see the following articles and reports:

  • April issue of Wired magazine (article regarding HANBAN's broad range of initiatives in the U.S.) -  The Mandarin Offensive:  Inside Beijing's Global Campaign to Make Chinese the Number One Language in the World by Michael Erard
    
  • The American Educational Research Association - Research Points:  Foreign Language Instruction - Implementing the Best Teaching Methods (Spring 2006)
    
  • St. Petersburg Times - Faragut Will Teach Chinese by Rita Farlow (August 6, 2006)
    
  • MSNBC - New Urgency to Learn Chinese by Lori Aratani of Washington Post via MSNBC (August 26, 2006)
    
  • St. Petersburg Times - Private School Offers Chinese by Rita Farlow (January 3, 2007)
    
    
    How many teachers were hired for this year’s program?

    HANBAN selected 60 candidates from a pool of 360 applicants.  The NAIS delegates interviewed the 60 candidates and recruited 20 teachers from China to begin work in 18 different independent schools across the United States. Teachers are hired for an initial one year contract for the school year 2006-07, with the hope that their contracts can be extended at least three years.
    
    
    NAIS delegates with recruited Chinese teachers post interviews, Shanghai, June 22, 2006
    

    What was required for obtaining a J-1 visa for the recruited teachers?

    To secure the J-1 visas, NAIS worked with an organization called the Institute of International Education (IIE), as recommended to us by the US Department of State.  To qualify for the J-1 visa and to meet NAIS’s requirements of candidates to teach in our schools, teachers had to meet the following expectations:

    1. The Chinese teacher met qualifications for teaching in primary or secondary schools in China. A copy of his or her teaching credentials with English translation was needed to secure a J-1.
    2. The Chinese teacher was of good reputation and character. The teacher submited a copy of a police report stating that the teacher has no criminal record in their home country in order to secure a J-1 visa.
    3. The Chinese teacher had a minimum of three years of teaching or related professional experience. Documentation was required to secure a J-1 visa. A resume or letter from Department of Education for which a teacher has worked was provided.
    4. The Chinese teacher had a valid passport, one that was valid for at least 6 months beyond the length of sponsorship requested. Copies of this documentation were required to secure a J-1 visa.
    5. The Chinese teacher had sufficient proficiency with the English language to fulfill the objectives of a implementing a Chinese language and culture curricular primary or secondary program in an American school.
    6. The Chinese teacher satisfied the legal standards and requirements for teaching in the U.S. state and school in which he or she will teach (i.e., a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent from a four-year college or university).
    7. The Chinese teacher seeked entry to the U.S. for the purpose of full-time teaching at a primary or secondary education institution in the U.S.
    8. The Chinese teacher, if he or she has had a J-1 visa before, has served the two-year stay back in China since the last J-1 visa stay in the United States.

    What type of health insurance did the school provide the recruited teacher/s?

    Schools that employed one or more of these teachers determined how they will provide lodging, transportation, and insurance for these individuals for the first 12 months of their stay. J-1 visitors must have specific health insurance that meets the following minimums:

    1. Medical benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness;
    2. Repatriation of remains in the amount of $7,500;
    3. Expenses associated with medical evacuation of the exchange visitor to his or her home country in the amount of $10,000; and
    4. A deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness.
    5. Policy must be underwritten by an insurance corporation having an A.M. Best rating of “A-” or have; an Insurance Solvency International, Ltd. (ISI) rating of “A-” or above; a Weiss Research, Inc. rating of B+ or above. It is your responsibility to confirm with the insurance company that they meet this criterion.

    Please see the Memorandum of Understanding for other details on the school obligations to the Chinese teachers. In addition, schools signed a contract with the Institute of International Education mentioned above. As the visa sponsor, IIE had certain requirements that were required both to ensure the continued validity of the visas and the quality of the IIE sponsorship program and their relationship with the State Department.

    
    What was the itinerary in China for the delegation of heads?

    During the June 2006 trip to China, the delegates travelled to three cities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an) to visit a variety of schools and to meet authorities from central and local education organizations and to experience Chinese culture. They interviewed candidates from a large pool of volunteer native-speaking teachers in China and hired teachers both for their own schools as well as other NAIS member schools they are paired with. For more details about their itinerary, click here.

    Michael Downs of Mounds Park Academy created a blog while in China.  To read his account of the trip, please click here.
    
    
    
    Chinese teachers at the Acculturation Training in Beijing, August 10-15, 2006
    
    
    What kind of training did NAIS and HANBAN provide teachers prior to their departure to the United States?
    
    NAIS and HANBAN organized a five-day acculturation training for all 20 teachers before their departure to the United States.  The training took place from August 10 to August 15, 2006 in Beijing. 

    • Jeff Bissell, School Year Abroad
    • Andrew Corcoran, Chinese American International School
    • Carl de Angelis, Institute of International Education
    • Hope Kuo Staab, Punahou School and School Year Abroad
    • Ioana Suciu, National Association of Independent Schools
    • Yan Li, School Year Abroad
    • Feng Ye, Punahou School

    
    
    Go back to the China Connection Homepage!
    
    
    Questions?  Contact Ioana Simona Suciu Wheeler, associate director of global initiatives at wheeler@nais.org.