Global Partnership Initiative Connects Students in N.C. & China

Posted January 18, 2018

Students from Mount Airy High School in North Carolina and Beijing Royal High School in China are the first participants in Go Global NC’s new global partnership initiative (GPI). Twenty-five students in each school were connected through video conferencing for three joint-classes in 2017 and additional classes throughout the 2018 school year.

picture of mount airy students

Photo: Mount Airy City Schools

The school-to-school video conference forum was developed by Go Global NC as part of its work with Hanban (the Office of Chinese Language Council International) and in partnership with RTP China Connection, Beijing Royal School, and Mount Airy High School.

The interaction allows students to practice their Chinese or English language skills and to virtually meet each other before several students from each class participate in an upcoming international learning exchange program. Mount Airy High School students and their families will welcome Chinese students into their North Carolina homes for a week at the end of January, and Mount Airy students will be hosted by students and families in China at the end of March. The exchange provides each group the opportunity to learn more about education, culture, and lifestyles in another country.

Mount Airy High School has offered Chinese classes since 2014 and has participated in the Chinese Guest Teacher program and Confucius Classroom initiative, both managed by Go Global NC. Click here to read details about the video-conferencing classes on the Mount Airy School District website.

Looking Back:
Then-superintendent of Mount Airy City Schools and students from Mount Airy High School shared their experiences of traveling to China at Go Global NC’s 2015 N.C. Global Engagement Summit. Dr. Greg Little discussed the importance of global education and the impact of Chinese language classes in Mt. Airy schools. Students Randall Simmons and Walker Hall, seniors at Mt. Airy High School, talked to UNC TV’s Erica Starke-Knight (5:05) about their personal experiences on a school trip to China.