Complete Coverage

U.S., Chinese Schools Build Virtual Ed. Partnerships

Students at Ningbo Secondary School in China’s Zhejiang province (shown on the computer screen) ask questions of teenagers in teacher Fan Li’s Chinese-language class at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich. The January teleconference, which was the class’s first with its Chinese counterparts, saw both groups performing and conversing in Chinese and English.

—Brian Widdis for Education Week

By Katie Ash

Several schools aiming to better prepare students for a global economy and foster cultural understanding between the United States and China have turned to virtual exchange programs between American and Chinese schools.

"The global market is changing 24-7," said William Skilling, the superintendent of the 4,600-student Oxford community school system in Michigan. "We feel it is mission-critical for every student to become fluent in a world language and fluent in multiple world cultures."

To that end, the district hires only native speakers to teach foreign languages, hosts both virtual and physical exchange programs with Chinese students and educators, and launched an international school in China that will allow students from the...