Group tours JCHS

They toured classrooms. They met with students. And they talked to teachers, including a group of Jay County teachers who will be making a reciprocal visit this spring.

A delegation of five teachers from Angang Senior Middle School in Anshan, China, led by Zhu Zhao Qi, chairman of the labor union at the school, had a full agenda Tuesday and again today.

The group toured Jay County High School Tuesday with Indiana superintendent of public instruction Tony Bennett, was honored with a reception Tuesday night at Arts Place, and was scheduled to tour General Shanks and Westlawn elementaries and West Jay and East Jay middle schools today.

"It's amazing how the world puts people together," said Jay Schools superintendent Tim Long as the group met with school administrators from Jay, Randolph, Delaware, and Grant counties along with local business leaders.

"Dr. Long has been very good buddies with us," said Zhu through Gao Rongfan, the most accomplished English speaker in the group.

Noting that Angang Senior Middle School and JCHS are sister schools, Zhu added, "We hope we can have cooperation like brothers, long term."

The visit by the Chinese teachers was funded by the Hanban, a Chinese governmental agency which promotes the understanding of Chinese culture internationally. The reciprocal trip will be funded by the Jay School Corporation.

Along with Zhu and Gao, the group included Cui Guiai, a math teacher, Zhang Lan, a politics or social studies teacher, and Zhou Xiaoping, who teaches students in the first year of the senior middle school.

Jay educators who will be participating in the April exchange trip include assistant superintendent Wood Barwick, art teachers Leslie Newton and Kathy Ayers, social studies teachers Trina Sommer and Devon Lykins, and Jessie Mangas, president of the Jay Classroom Teachers Association.

Tuesday evening the group was entertained by choir, band, and drama performances and a robotics exhibition by Jay County students.[[In-content Ad]]