Chinese officials visit Perpich

Chinese education officials will visit Perpich Arts High School at 2 p.m., Sunday (Feb. 26) as part of a four-state educational outreach mission. Perpich students and staff will perform a welcoming ceremony, present gifts and perform a short dance and music concert. The dignitaries will tour the school, meet Perpich students who are in a China exchange program, and discuss the possibility of establishing a Confucius Classroom at Perpich for the study of Chinese language and culture.

The visitors are Li Youzhong, Secretary of Party Committee, and Zhao Liming, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office. They head the Louyang No. 1 Senior High School, with which Perpich shares an exchange program. Perpich is one of only four stops Li and Zhao are making in the United States while traveling to become more familiar with American education and schools. They are also visiting Seattle, San Francisco, and Honolulu.

“In China, the Party leads the administration (the president and vice presidents of the school),” explains Elizabeth (Yuanjing) Wilcox, Perpich Chinese language teacher. “Therefore, he is a very important person to meet and it’s an honor for Perpich to welcome them to our campus.” The title “No. 1 Senior” designates the highest status school in Henan province. Louyang, China, is the largest city in Henan province other than the capital city, Zhengzhou.

Last year, students and staff from Louyang and Perpich participated in the Perpich’s first Chinese exchange program. The program continues this year with Perpich students traveling to Louyang for two weeks beginning March 27, and Louyang students arriving in Minnesota on April 12. The purpose of the Perpich program is to immerse students in an experiential cultural exchange. They stay with families in student homes and learn firsthand what life is like in a particular geographic area, building common bonds of understanding.

Perpich is interested in expanding the exchange program to become a designated Confucius Classroom, which would be tied to the Confucius Institute at the University of Minnesota. Confucius Institutes and Classrooms are supported by Hanban, an institution affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education, and committed to provide Chinese language and culture teaching resources and services worldwide. The University and the state have encouraged stronger ties to China to increase trade and educational opportunities for Minnesota residents. Perpich is a Minnesota State Agency serving all K-12 teachers and schools.