Lincoln Junior High School had a unique group of visitors tour their school last week on Friday, 21 middle school students and four teachers/administrators from their sister school in China. The school is called the Zhejiang University of Technology and is located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. ZJUT is a suburban public school with an enrollment of around 1,700 students.
Hangxin Yu, Lincoln’s former Chinese teacher, initiated a partnership between the two schools during the 2015–2016 school year with the help of some of his eighth-grade students. Although he is no longer teaching at Lincoln, he is still involved with helping Lincoln keep the two schools connected due to the many cultural learning benefits.
Yu said, “This partnership program has increased students’ cultural understandings both here and in China at ZJUT. Students can communicate through letters and online digitally with students around their same age from another culture. They can see the cultural diversity of this world.”
Principal Reid Gault said, “This is an invaluable partnership for our students and staff that provides an additional educational opportunity; not only have students formed friendships, they are also reinforcing what they learned from authentic classroom materials.”
The partnership also offers an opportunity for LJHS students to figuratively go on a trip to China through the online friendships they have built and has physically fostered the visit Lincoln staff and students experienced.
Photo captured by Plymouth High School Radio TV senior Jacob Deacon
