PIHS, Chinese school partnership progresses
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — The SAD 1 board of directors voted unanimously Nov. 16 to enter into a cooperative agreement between Presque Isle High School and Hefei No. 8 High School in Hefei, China and Niulanshan High School in Beijing, China, and the agreements now go to Chinese representatives for approval. If there is final approval, this international school relationship will provide prospective students with many unique and varied cultural and educational opportunities.
Hefei is a Chinese city of over 4 million, and Hefei No. 8 is one of over 50 high schools in the city.
“It resembles a small U.S. college campus with the majority of its students housed in dormitories,” said SAD 1 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson. “They have a beautiful campus, and they are widely considered one of the best high schools in Hefei.”
Johnson explained that the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone had previously developed a relationship with Hefei No. 8 nearly five years ago, at which time the two schools entered into an international school agreement, which is now being phased out.
“Because Hefei No. 8 also had a relationship with the University of Maine at Presque Isle — through President Don Zillman and Vice President Mike Sonntag — SAD 1 became involved in discussions of developing a relationship,” said Johnson. “David Hu, representing the Sino-Global Education (SGE) Foundation and Hefei No. 8, visited PIHS in September and has offered us the opportunity to develop a relationship with Hefei No. 8.
“Hefei No. 8 would like to offer the PIHS curriculum at their school, using our expertise and oversight. They have done their research and know that we are a high-performing school and they want to adopt our curriculum model,” Johnson said. “The Chinese Charitable SGE Foundation has expressed willingness to financially back this arrangement which is a large plus for us.”
Once the PIHS Satellite Program is established with Hefei No. 8, Chinese students will have the opportunity to attend PIHS for one year, and PIHS students will be able to attend Hefei No. 8.
There would be no investment of SAD 1 funds in this partnership, the superintendent explained.
“The SGE Foundation would support it, and the opportunity for a revenue stream for us will be there as Chinese students from Hefei No. 8 PIHS program come to PIHS in the future,” said Johnson.
In the proposed agreement, no more than 10 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 would have an opportunity to study in China.
“Our students would have the opportunity to develop an understanding of the Chinese culture, and the Chinese educational system,” said Johnson.
The Chinese students would be interviewed by SAD 1 officials by way of Skype or other interface technology before enrolling at PIHS.
“We would also already know some of these students because of our presence there,” Johnson said. “We’d be able to make an informed decision on whether there would be a good fit.”
Johnson described the relationship as “a great cultural experience” for local students.
“It’s a win-win for our students,” he said. “We really have no cultural diversity to speak of in Aroostook County. These Chinese students would arrive here — able to speak our language — with a wealth of cultural background to share. The Chinese-U.S. school exchange relationship is growing nationally at the high school level, and this would be an opportunity for PIHS to be on the cutting edge. There will also be opportunities for members of our faculty to teach at Hefei No. 8, as well.
“I don’t see any downside to this. There is no cost to SAD 1, with all costs covered by the foundation, and there is a strong potential for a revenue stream to SAD 1 through the hosting of Hefei tuition students in the future, ” said Johnson.
As a safeguard, the cooperative agreement includes a clause that the partnership may be ended by either party with 30 days’ notice.
“If we get into this and it’s not working for us, the program can be ended,” said Johnson.
A similar cooperative agreement between the district and the Niulanshan First Secondary School in Beijing is in the development stage.
“Niulanshan High School officials are in the process of obtaining permission from their government to move forward,” Johnson said. “We expect our relationship with them to grow in the future.”
