International school possibility continues
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — The first draft of a cooperative agreement between the Niulanshan First Secondary School in Beijing, China and Presque Isle High School has been completed.
Over the last few months, the two educational entities — with the encouragement and support of Don Zillman and Mike Sontag from the University of Maine at Presque Isle — have been working on the possibility of an international school relationship which would provide their respective students with many unique and varied cultural and educational opportunities.
According to the draft agreement, both schools agree that, based on the principles of reciprocity, trust and mutual benefit, “they will cooperate by utilizing their respective resources, constructing a globalized school-based curriculum, enriching teaching content and motivating today’s students to acquire long-range vision and a working knowledge of modern realities to meet the diversified needs of an informed and socially connected citizenry.”
In the proposed agreement, a limited number of Chinese students per year would be enrolled at PIHS during the first three years of the program. Chinese students would follow the PIHS curriculum, as well as an Intensive English Language Program, and a computer language and statistics program.
In turn, a limited number of PIHS students have been invited to Beijing to attend a one-week cultural institute.
“Our students would have the opportunity to begin to understand the Chinese culture, and the Chinese high school system,” said SAD 1 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson. “Airfare would be paid by the students and room and board would be provided by the host Chinese school while they were there.”
Johnson said step one in the process is reaching a cooperative agreement.
“What we have now is just a draft,” he said. “It will be refined during the next month.
“Once the Chinese government and SAD 1 approve the draft, we’ll begin the negotiation process for how the actual program will be designed,” said Johnson, who will travel to China in the spring to meet with Weiquiang Wu and other Niulanshan school officials.”
Johnson said while the Beijing school officials and UMPI initiated the relationship, local students would prosper from it, as well.
“There would be an opportunity for our students to study over there, and possibly instructional opportunities for members of our faculty,” he said. “There are a lot of cultural opportunities that students would be able to take advantage of. This is very much in the beginning phase, but it’s something we’re optimistic we can make happen.”
