BCEF China grant

In front of Bolton High School are School Superintendent Mark Winzler, Town Administrator Joyce Stille, Geng Shuai, Wang Fuhai, He Chengjin, Bolton Curriculum Director Claudia Danna, Bolton Community Education Foundation member Hazel Allen, and BHS Principal Paul K. Smith.

Meeting at the state Capitol are He Chengjin, Rep. Pam Sawyer, Wang Fuhai, Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele, Geng Shuai and Bolton High school principal Paul Smith.

At a community reception at the Senior Center, Bolton First Selectman Bruno Simonetti presents proclamations that made our visitors honorary citizens of Bolton. State Rep. Pam Sawyer and State Sen. Maryann Handley also presented proclamations that welcomed the visitors.

Foundation Chair Beth Harney, left, and Pam Cropley, right, who coordinates the Foundation's grant applications, present a check to Paul K. Smith to help fund his trip to China in April 2008 as part of an effort to establish a "sister" school.

The Bolton Community Education Foundation is supporting ongoing opportunities to educate our community about Chinese culture and lifestyles. Most recently, the Foundation partnered with the school system and other community groups as we welcomed three Chinese educators who visited Bolton in January 2009.

The China-Bolton connection began when the Foundation awarded a $1,000 grant to support Bolton High School’s efforts to establish a "sister school" in China. The Foundation’s grant helped fund a trip by BHS Principal Paul K. Smith to travel to the Shandong Province of China for two weeks in April 2008.

The goal of the sister-school project is to build partnerships between school administrators and create opportunities for professional development. The Foundation is expanding this opportunity even further by exploring educational programs and opportunities to share information with residents about Chinese history, culture, and lifestyle.

The three Chinese visitors -– Mr. Wang Fuhai, Mr. He Chengjin, and Mr. Geng Shuai -– spent 10 days in Bolton as part of this collaboration. They visited classrooms at both the High School and the Center School, met with teachers and students, dined at local restaurants, had dinners at private homes, took a trip to Boston, and attended school activities and sporting events.

A highlight of their visit was a townwide reception presented by the Bolton Community Education Foundation at the Senior Center on January 15, an event that was cosponsored by the Bolton Regional Lions Club and Brown Sugar Catering, LLC, of Manchester.

Stay tuned for more programs related to China that will lead up to a trip in April 2010 where up to 50 Bolton residents will travel with BHS Principal Paul Smith to China to tour Beijing and visit Bolton’s sister school. Seats are filling fast! For more information on participating, send an email to PaulK.Smith@boltonct.org.

Mr. Smith has set up a "Bolton High School -- China Partnership" blog that provides more information on this exciting and innovative collaboration, including plans for the April 2010 trip. Click here to see it.

The Connecticut Principals’ Center of the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) and the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) have collaborated on a Connecticut-Shandong Province (China) Principal Shadowing Project (PSP) as part of the Connecticut-Shandong Sister School Initiative.

According to the CAS and the CDES, the goal of the project is to build partnerships between school administrators, promote mutual intercultural understanding, and create opportunities for professional development.

“The entire Bolton community has the potential to benefit from a connection with a school community across the globe,” Mr. Smith explains. “I’m hoping to start a long-term relationship with a school and community in China that will create a connection for all of Bolton. The prospect for guest speakers as well as visits and home stays by guests in Bolton and reciprocated in China can create opportunities for diversity exposure, understanding, and cultural awareness.”

The Bolton Community Education Foundation is a private, non-profit organization, incorporated in February 2004. The primary goal of the Foundation is to support and enhance educational opportunities for the entire Bolton community. Its Board of Directors is made up of community members who serve on a volunteer basis.