As global east-west relationships grow stronger, UF’s P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School is celebrating a burgeoning relationship with the Nanjing International Experimental School (NJIES) in China by sending the first Blue Wave student delegation to visit the Chinese school during P.K. Yonge’s spring break, March 22 to April 1.
PKY K-12 principal Cathy Atria (left) and technology coordinator Julie Henderson (right) flank nine of the 13 traveling Blue Wave student delegates before embarking on their China trip.
NJIE holds a “lab school-type” connection with Nanjing Xizhuang University, similar to P.K. Yonge’s affiliation with UF and the College of Education. The UF college forged an exchange relationship last year with the Nanjing institution.
UF education associate dean Tom Dana and professor Nancy Dana are accompanying the P.K. Yonge contingent on the spring break tour, joining 13 Blue Wave high-school students, K-12 principal Cathy Atria and technology coordinator Julie Henderson.
The UF-Nanjing connection started in 2010 when a Chinese doctoral student spent a year at P.K. Yonge documenting teaching practice and school life. Fran Vandiver, then the school director, reciprocated by visiting Nanjing the following year.
Last May, new PKY director Lynda Hayes joined COE deans Glenn Good and Tom Dana and others on another Nanjing expedition to cement the international partnership with a formal agreement.
The 13 Blue Wave student “delegates”—five males and eight females—currently visiting China represent every high school grade. They are visiting historical sites in Shanghai and Nanjing and taking classes at NJEIS in Chinese language, calligraphy and tai chi.
Beginning Friday, March 29, PKY students will spend a couple nights at the homes of NJEIS students to experience Chinese family life—a rare view of Chinese culture that few travelers there get to experience.
Julie Henderson said the UF/PKY-Nanjing connection “will foster global awareness and cultural sensitivity—critical skills for today’s generation of learners.”