Naugatuck School Builds a Bridge to China

A door has now opened between a little downtown Naugatuck school and an elementary school in Northeast China.

Superintendent John Tindall-Gibson announced during the meeting Thursday that now has an active relationship with a Chinese school in the city of Harbin, located in the Heilongjiang province.

With that relationship, the students at Salem will begin learning more about Chinese culture, curriculum and language, as a way to broaden the understanding between the two countries.

“We are just about to kick off our attempt to develop a relationship with them which we hope will go on for many, many years,” Tindall-Gibson told the board during the meeting at Hop Brook School.

Tindall-Gibson talked about the new relationship as part of a “Chinese Bridge” initiative, which came about after the he visited China through a program sponsored by the College Board. Known for administering the SATs and Advanced Placement tests, the College Board also has a relationship with the Chinese-based Confucius Institute, an organization that looks to broaden the understanding of Chinese culture and language throughout the world with educators, Tindall-Gibson said.

“For the last six years (the Confucius Institute) has arranged for American educators to go to China,” Tindall-Gibson said. “I was fortunate to be able to do that.”

During his trip in November, at no cost to the taxpayers, the superintendent visited locations in Harbin and eventually had come to a small elementary school. There, he said he met with an assistant principal, where they talked about creating a sister-school concept between Naugatuck and the Harbin school.

“And we signed a little contract to begin developing a relationship between the school here and their school,” Tindall-Gibson told the board.

Prior to his trip, Tindall-Gibson said he spoke with other Naugatuck administrators about the possibility of a bridge program between two schools. Salem School Principal Jennifer Kruge had expressed interest and that will be the school that will host these new educational initiatives.

During Thursday’s meeting, Kruge, along with a Salem School intern, Rui Du, connected with the Chinese elementary via a computer program called QQ, a transmission service similar to Skype. For a brief period Du, a native of China, acted as a translator for Kruge who spoke with three teachers in a live event that was broadcast before the meeting.

“We are very excited to be able to share our school experiences and learn what your students are learning, and I’m sure our students share the same hopes and dreams,” Kruge told the Chinese teachers through the transmission.

They responded that they were happy to learn more about Salem’s culture and curriculum.

Kruge said Du, a student at the University of Bridgeport, will facilitate some of the initiatives by teaching Chinese to the Salem kindergarten classes. Du said she will also administer a pen-pal program, where the students will email the Chinese students in English.

“We’re hoping to learn their curriculum and culture as well as share what we are doing in our kindergarten classes with them,” Kruge said.

The principal said she hopes to the relationship with the Chinese school lasts for man years to come. Right now, the focus is on the kindergarten students, however she said it’s possible to expand it to the other elementary school students in the future.