School District 43 trustees who went to China last month plan to share their experience at upcoming meetings, said board chair Kerri Palmer Isaak.
And 30 teachers and principals from Tri-City public schools who went to China during spring break to participate in professional development paid for by a Chinese sister city program will also be discussing what they learned from the trip.
“We’re hoping to do a series of stories coming out of our time in China and we’re working on on putting those things together with visuals,” Palmer Isaak told The Tri-City News. “[It will be about] what we were able to engage in there and how that translates when we arrive back home in the subsequent years to benefit students.”
Six trustees went on the trip from Feb. 26 to March 9, which cost $54,600, paid for by a grant from the the Confucius Institute Institute in Coquitlam, which is funded by the Chinese government.
Palmer said the visit was a good opportunity to learn about the Chinese education system while also representing the district’s international education program.
“A lot of us feel responsible for keeping the program sustainable and strong,” Palmer Isaak said in her justification for the trip, which some have criticized as a potential conflict of interest.
During the trip, trustees visited Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, met with education bureaus and visited schools.
“When I went to China this year and spent some time with students, the things I learned about technology just blew me away,” said Palmer Isaak, who is also an Anmore/Belcarra trustee.
The trip will also help boost the international education program, she said, which this year will see 2,036 students attending local schools, paying $15,000 apiece in annual fees.
