Schools
East Meets West—East Lyme High To Create Sister School in China
Under a proposed agreement, Chinese students will study at East Lyme High School and local students will have the chance to study in China. Chinese students would pay $10,000 each in tuition, East Lyme students could study in China for free.
Over the past two years, East Lyme High School has hosted a number of exchange students from China. At the last Board of Education meeting, however, members voted to make the relationship between China and East Lyme more permanent.
The Board approved a proposal to establish an agreement between Xiangjiang High School in Guangzhou, China, and East Lyme High School to create a Sino-American cooperative program beginning in the 2013-2014 school year.
Under the agreement, the 10-12th grade school in Xiangjiang would establish a unique program that mirrors the curriculum offered by East Lyme High School to serve 60 Chinese students. After going through two years in the program, about 10 students from China would transfer to East Lyme High School for senior year, graduating with dual diplomas from both schools.
The 10 Chinese students would pay full tuition to attend East Lyme High School, which amounts to $150,000. East Lyme students would also have the same opportunity to attend the Xiangiang school for a semester, a summer, or a full year, as would East Lyme High School teachers but at no cost.
As School Superintendent James Lombardo sees it, "we have nothing to lose and everything to gain with this."
One of the goals of the school's strategic plan is to establish a new Chinese Language program and to establish cultural exchanges with Asian countries. It was with that in mind that the high school began working with Spiral International two years ago to bring 30 students from China to East Lyme during the summer.
That program, which is funded by a grant, adds $24,000 to the school district's budget each year. The program has also enabled two East Lyme teachers to travel to China on educational trips at no cost to the district. Creating a "sister school" relationship with the high school in China will build on that experience, Lombardo said.
It will take a couple of years before the Chinese students will be ready to spend their senior year in East Lyme but, after hearing Lombardo's presentation, the East Lyme School Board agreed to set the ball in motion.
"I think this is a great opportunity to broaden the base for East Lyme," said Board of Education Chairman Timothy Hagen.
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