The connection between Newton and the Beijing Jingshan School was established in 1979 and the schools began exchanging students and teachers in 1985. Chinese students travel to the US in the fall and American students travel to China in the spring. Each group spends four months living with host families and studying at their host school. For the American group, there is also a six-week intensive summer language institute followed by an after school language and culture class in the fall.
Brookline High School established their exchange program with the Gao Xin School in Xi’an, China in 1999. Every year, a delegation of eight students and one teacher from China spends the fall semester in Brookline and a similar group travels from Brookline to Xi’an for the spring semester. Both groups live with host families during their stay. In addition, American students study pre-modern Chinese history and culture during the fall semester before their study abroad.
The Academy of the Pacific Rim has several exchange programs with their partner, the Beijing No. 80 school. In 2008 the schools started a trimester-long exchange program, giving two to four students the opportunity to spend twelve weeks studying at their sister school. Recently, they are also working to create a summer language and culture program in China.
Established in 2002, The Dover-Sherborn Hangzhou China Exchange Program is an eight-week program between the Dover-Sherborn High School and the Hangzhou High School. In January a delegation of one teacher and two to three students travels to Hangzhou, where they teach English classes and study Chinese history, language, and culture. While in America, Chinese students teach lessons on Chinese culture and language and also take classes in American Studies. Both groups live with host families.
The Academy of the Pacific Rim has several exchange programs with their partner, the Beijing No. 80 school. Since 2001 they have offered a two and a half-week program for fifteen to twenty students. Chinese students travel to the US in January, staying with host families and touring the Boston area. In April the American students return the visit, living with host families and in the school’s dormitory.
Winchester’s Dandelion School Project is a very unique program that connects Winchester High School with the Dandelion School, a private school for the children of migrant workers who lack access to China’s public school system. Every summer a small group of American students travels to China and spends 12 days teaching English at the Dandelion School and touring around Beijing and Xi’an.
The partnership between Luoyang Senior High School and Weston High School began in 2007 and in 2009 the first delegation of Chinese students traveled to the United States. During the three-week exchange, Chinese students live with host families and visit all the schools in the district, teaching classes on Chinese culture. In China, the American students attend classes and live mainly in the school dorm, though they do spend one weekend with a host family. Towards the end of their stay the American group also takes a short trip to Xi’an.