Strengthening Sino-U.S. Friendships
Zhang Hong participated in the State Department’s Teachers of Critical Languages Program during the 2009-2010 school year.

 

During the her year in the United States, Ms. Zhang taught high school students and hosted a local TV program, which was shared with elementary school students in the district. After the exchange program, Ms. Zhang began to work in her home school’s Foreign Affairs Office, continuing to make efforts to strengthen the friendship between China and the U.S.

Ms. Zhang’s home school, Zhengzhou No.47 Middle and High School is one of the National Bases of International Promotion of Chinese Language approved by Hanban. They have hosted Chinese-Bridge for American Principals since 2006 and co-hosted Sino-U.S. Seminar of Henan Province for 3 years. This November, Ms. Zhang was in charge of the preparations and hosting responsibilities for 2014 Chinese-Bridge for the American Principals’ Sino-U.S. Seminar. Forty-five American educators, including principals, superintendents and representatives from American College Board and 70 Chinese educators, including representatives from Henan Education Department and principals from 24 schools from the whole province attended this seminar. Fifteen Memorandum of Understandings were signed between schools, including two between Ms. Zhang’s home school and two American schools. Ms. Zhang was excited to devote herself to strengthening the relationship between Sino-U.S. schools in this way.

Apart from the seminar, Ms. Zhang worked as the Chair of the United Nations’ Model Montessori China Conference, 2014. This program is intended to help youth develop a sense of responsibility to create a better world by acting representatives from different countries. Six hundred elementary and middle school students from the U.S, China, Korea and Mexico participated in this conference. Ms. Zhang worked as a secretariat in the Commission of Sustainable Development and helped with the conference.