Programs
The Confucius Institute of the State of Washington supports a number of ongoing programs in partnership with the Hanban, the executive body of the Chinese Language Council International, a non-governmental and non-profit organization affiliated to the Ministry of Education of China, including:
- Chinese Guest Teacher Program
- Chinese Bridge Delegation for Educators
- Chinese Bridge Student Exchange Camps
- Confucius Classrooms
Chinese Guest Teacher Program
Four visiting teachers in 2010-11 with Karen & Pollyanna
The Confucius Institute of the State of Washington and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) partner on the Chinese Guest Teacher Program, coordinated by the College Board, in partnership with Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters and the National Council of State Supervisors for Language (NCSSFL). Schools or districts can request highly qualified teachers from China to help launch or expand their Chinese language programs. During 2011-2012, Washington State is host to six guest teachers, all in the Seattle Public Schools.
Here is some information from the College Board website: College Board > Host a Guest Teacher.
The Chinese Guest Teacher Program is designed to help U.S. schools develop Chinese language and culture study programs and to promote international exchange between the United States and China.
Key benefits to U.S. schools and students include:
- Host schools can start or expand a Chinese language and culture program at reasonable cost.
- Schools can lay a foundation for offering AP® Chinese classes in the future.
- Students learn authentic Chinese language and interact with a native Chinese speaker.
- Chinese guest teachers serve as cultural resources in other subject areas.
The Program provides an experienced language teacher from China for the host school or district for a period of one to three years. This is your chance to build a Chinese program efficiently and affordably.
The Guest Teacher Program has just launched the selection process for the 2012-2013 school year. For more information, visit College Board > Host a Guest Teacher.
If your school or district is interested in hosting a guest teacher in 2012-2013, how about visiting the classroom of one of the current guest teachers? Just contact Confucius Institute Director, Tang Changping (Donna), at catang@seattleschools.org to request more information and a school visitation.
The College Board is also expanding the program in 2012 as follows:
New in 2012 is the opportunity to host a Chinese guest trainee, in which established K-12 Chinese programs gain an authentic Chinese language and cultural resource to enrich their school’s classrooms and communities.
This program places a trainee from a TCFL (Teaching Chinese as Foreign Language) post-graduate program in China to the host school or district for one year. The guest trainees have one year of teaching experience; however, they cannot serve as teachers of record nor fixed co-teachers. Participating institutions are responsible for providing guest trainees with a structured training plan, and complimentary housing and transportation.
For more information, visit College Board > Host a Guest Teacher.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chinese Bridge Delegation
The Confucius Institute of the State of Washington helps coordinate the Chinese Bridge Delegation for Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters. This is an amazing opportunity for state and school district administrators and policy makers, especially school board members, to travel for about ten days to China to learn more about China’s education system and how to connect schools in China and the U.S.
The most recent Chinese Bridge Delegation was organized by the College Board November 3-11, 2011. Washington state had fourteen delegates, coming from Auburn, Bellingham, East Wenatchee, Edmonds, Longview, Seattle, Stevenson, Vancouver, and Winthrop.
Our Confucius Institute sponsored Superintendent Randy Dorn to participate in the “Chinese Bridge–American School Principals Visit to China” in June 2011. Watch Supt. Dorn’s speech in Beijing, on June 20th.
OSPI’s Deputy Superintendent for K-12 Education, Dr. Alan Burke, participated in the Confucius Institute-sponsored trip to China in December 2010.
Confucius Institute Education Advisory Board member, Rongfen Sun Burford, represented the Confucius Institute in June 2010. See her Photo Report from the June 2010 Bridge Delegation to China: Part1 * Part2 * Part3 * Part4
The Confucius Institute expects the next Chinese Bridge Delegation to take place in June 2012. For more information, contact ciwa@uw.edu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chinese Bridge Summer Camp for High School Students
The Confucius Institute of the State of Washington also supports the Chinese Bridge Summer Camp for High School Students to promote friendship and exchange among high school students in China and the U.S.
The 2012 Chinese Bridge Summer Camp, a program for American high school students to experience Chinese language and culture on the summer holidays, will take place July 15 to 29 in China. Students will arrive and depart through Beijing, with activities in Jilin, Henan, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangxi and Fujian provinces. Applications are due April 5 and should be sent to:
Changping Tang
Confucius Institute of the State of Washington Education Center
2600 SW Thistle Street
Seattle WA 98126
2012-application-form-for-students
More information is available here, or contact ciwa@uw.edu
In summer 2011, the Confucius Institute organized and partially funded the first summer camp trip for high school students to China, sponsored by Hanban. The students, from various schools in Washington State, went to Beijing and Changsha, Hunan with two chaperones. They had unforgettable experiences of Chinese language and culture, visited historic and scenic sites, and communicated with local Chinese students and residents in China. Afterwards, all the students expressed that the trip was really worthwhile and rewarding; they made new friends in China, deepened their understanding of Chinese culture, and will have more interest and confidence in learning Chinese language in the future.
Read more:
Edmonds students travel to China article about Chinese Bridge Summer Camp students.
The Confucius Institute hopes to send an even larger group of students to China in summer 2012. For more information, contact ciwa@uw.edu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Confucius Classrooms
Asia Society’s Confucius Classrooms Network is a national network of exemplary Chinese language programs. The Network serves as model sites for developing the field of Chinese language teaching in American schools. For more information, visit: Asia Society > Confucius Classrooms Network.
- Beacon Hill International School (Seattle)
- Peninsula School District (Gig Harbor)
- Sammamish High School (Bellevue)
- Tyee Middle School (Bellevue)
The College Board, in collaboration with Hanban/Confucius Institutes Headquarters, has recently launched its own Confucius Institutes and Classrooms program to support the development of K-12 Chinese language and culture education in the U.S. by providing funding, resources and guidance to participating institutions. Applications for the 2012-13 school year are reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications received by Jan. 15, 2012, will be given priority consideration. For more information, visit http://professionals.collegeboard.com/k-12/awards/chinese/confucius.
The Confucius Institute of the State of Washington serves as a liaison for the Confucius Classrooms. There may be opportunities for additional schools in Washington to develop Confucius Classroom relationships with schools in China over the coming years. If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity, email ciwa@u.washington.edu.
