Program Catalog. Astar Education Institute. Volunteer Chinese Teacher Exchange

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1 Astar Education Institute 7864 Donegan Drive, Manassas, VA Tel: (703) Fax: (703) Volunteer Chinese Teacher Exchange Program Catalog 1

2 People are finally beginning to pay attention to Mandarin Chinese as a major cultural and economic prospect for students. Parents want their children to have an edge, and they see Chinese as helping them get that. I ve heard from people who say: Forget the engineering. Learn the foreign language. If you want a job, the foreign language is going to sell your engineering. Washington Post, 08/13 Astar Education Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization designated by the United States Department of Homeland Security & Immigration to handle international and domestic students. Astar has been offering English and Chinese languages and occupational courses since At Astar Education Institute, we recognize the need to overcome language and cultural barriers in our increasingly globalized world. We believe education is the key to increase global awareness and communication skills. Our various classes and programs give students and working professionals the knowledge and skills necessary to reach their academic and professional goals. Astar continues to expand partnerships with organizations, schools and host families all over the United States in order to better serve the needs of our constituents. Our programs are proven to be effective, thank to our experienced teachers, dynamic curriculums, and placement programs which allow students to master their area of study. This catalog is specifically designed to help your school learn more about our Volunteer Chinese Teacher Program! This program brings fully licensed instructors from China to American schools to teach courses in Mandarin Chinese. Host schools in the United States will benefit from learning about the Chinese language and culture first-hand while the Chinese instructor will gain valuable experience working and living in the US. 2

3 Astar Education Institute K-12 Chinese Language and Asian Studies Curriculum Development Services and Teacher Exchange Program for Schools and School Districts Astar Education Institute can provide you with everything you need to start either a Chinese language or Asian studies program at your school or school system. Tell us the age level you are working with and we will provide you with a suggested curriculum, books and educational materials to meet the reading and cognitive level of development for your students K-12. Astar provides a pipeline service to help you hire a Chinese language or Asian studies teacher. We pre-screen them to make sure they have the appropriate background required by your state department of education. Mission Statement 3

4 Frequently asked questions: How can our school fit the Chinese language program into our curriculum? Astar Education can work with you to develop a language study model that fits your goals for a foreign language curriculum by helping you: Examine the advantages and limitations of each program model and arrange visits to successful programs. Explore models for foreign language programs across levels (elementary, middle school, high school) to create a sequence of instruction that will result in higher levels of fluency in the language. Evaluate the school district's current language program in order to build on current program strengths. How can we fit Asian studies into our already crowded curriculum? Astar can work with you to either insert Asian studies into your existing curriculum to support local standards for language arts, math, science and social studies, or build up a discrete program under the aegis of your social studies content requirements. Please note that if you only want a Chinese language program and not an Asian studies program, then no problem at all! These two programs can easily function independent of one another. How do we know your teachers are qualified? We will show you permission documents from U.S. State Department which authorize the teacher to work under the rigorous regulations for their visa designation authorization. We will also share our teacher application and orientation materials with you to show you our demanding screening process and teacher training. In order for you to feel comfortable with the prospective teacher, American hosting schools will also participate in the selection process. After Astar has done the initial screening, interviewing, and document authentication, the principal of the school or appropriate human resources representative interviews the candidates that look the most interesting to them based on the teacher dossiers. Why should we work with Astar instead of other organizations? Astar provides a comprehensive package of language and social studies curriculum development and international exchange not provided by any other organization. We save your staff a lot of time and research not having to create your own program piece meal or having to invest time gaining authorization for your own exchange program. We base our services and products on information and from the leaders in the fields of language and social studies. 4

5 How will the teachers be paid and accommodated for? These teachers are participating on a volunteer-basis. The only accommodations they require are room and meals, although it is strongly recommended you pay a stipend of around $500/month. If the school is not able to find a host family or host faculty member who is able to provide board (meals 7 days a week), then it is recommended that the school pay a stipend to the host family as well as the teacher. This program s main goal is learning. We want to ensure that our teachers are as little financial responsibility to your school as possible. Please let us know if you have any special requests concerning your teacher s accommodations. What if we want to pay a monthly stipend to the teacher but cannot afford to? National Security Language Initiative grants are available through the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. State Department. Chinese is considered a critical language that the U.S. government is encouraging its citizens to learn in order to build: the ability to engage foreign governments and peoples, especially in critical regions, to encourage reform, promote understanding, convey respect for other cultures and provide an opportunity to learn more about America and its citizens. The following link provides a fact sheet on the initiative and funding for it: Do the exchange teachers speak English? Yes! Our Chinese instructors are fluent in English to ensure effective communication with their students. Each teacher also holds TESOL Certification so they are qualified to teach English as well! What is the duration of the teacher s term at my school? The exchange program occurs for a period of nine months (one school year). However, if you would like your teacher to continue at your school for more than nine months, you can extend the program to a total of fifteen (15) months. Furthermore, if you decide that you would like to hire the teacher indefinitely after the term of the contract ends, Astar can process all the paperwork for you so that the teacher can legally work on an H-1B visa (Astar may charge the school processing fees in addition to any fees paid directly to Immigration for this service). Please let us know if there is a specific duration of time that you wish to have your teacher at your school and we will do our best to accommodate your needs. 5

6 What would the school or school districts responsibilities be for the China-USA Teacher Exchange Program? Conduct final interviews from a pool of qualified teacher candidates to select your teacher(s) ; Sign the Astar contract filling in your school s stipend (if applicable) and outlining your performance expectations; Provide a new teacher orientation to make sure the Chinese language teacher is aware of your school policies; Identification of an ESL or foreign language teacher to be a teacher mentor to help with American educational culture, lesson planning, American style teaching, cultural orientation, introduction to staff and community; Find and maintain a faculty home stay, dorm room, teacher apartment, hotel, or local apartment; Honor the teacher s expertise by allowing her to brainstorm with staff for ways to bring in Chinese culture across the disciplines. Assist the teacher in case of an accident or illness. Contact Astar if the teacher needs assistance and cannot contact Astar him or herself. What will Astar do to prepare the teacher for coming to our school? The teacher will get three very intensive briefings: A program application briefing; A pre-departure orientation; A one month teacher training seminar prior to coming to your school. What will be covered in the teacher orientations? The purpose of the orientation is to ease the Chinese language teachers as comfortably as possible into their new job of teaching Chinese language and culture in the United States. This includes helping them with: Knowing the program purpose; practical arrival information including airport pick-up, transfer, housing, stipends and program support, required and optional program schedules; briefing on the roles of the Astar Program Manager, mentor teacher, school principal, and possible host faculty home stay or housing; comprehension of visa rules and regulations and monitoring requirements; access to health care, health insurance, and emergency procedures; developing cultural awareness, providing tips for navigating in the U.S. culture, and surviving culture shock, and re-entry shock; an understanding of the U.S. educational system; national and local standards for teaching foreign languages; 6

7 resources for teaching Chinese language; resources for teaching Chinese culture in English; U.S. concepts of good teaching practices; American classroom management practices, teacher and child safety, sexual harassment, and avoiding legal problems within the school community; Resources for learning about American history and culture; Community resources How to contact Astar How to contact the U.S. State Department Optional free time activities through Astar What information should the school provide to the Chinese language teacher? While no one should underestimate the skills and talents of Chinese teachers educated in Chinese teaching colleges, one also has to recognize that there may be some cultural and philosophical differences in the two different national educational systems. This will be both the beauty and challenge of the program. Chinese teachers will bring a wealth of incredible resources about their successful teaching methods. At the same time, Chinese teachers will be entering the U.S. educational and classroom management culture and will need to be able to deal with those expectations. The first part of the teaching exchange will have to be about Chinese teachers learning about U.S. teaching methods, school rules and performance expectations, legal issues, school safety, student demographics and accounting for individual needs, parent relations, and state certification requirements. As they are learning these things they can share and demonstrate their own practices and beliefs and give back to the American educational community. We recommend supplying the teacher with the following: A copy of your Staff Rules or handbook; A copy of the student rules; Schedule for performance appraisal; Time to report for work; Schedule/model you have for foreign language teaching. Is Chinese taught as a special subject, in a bi-lingual program, an immersion setting, or short daily lessons across grades? Responsibilities outside of teaching Chinese (e.g., help with field trips, after school programs, school performances, lunch or recess duty) What is your grading system? How should s/he keep student records? How often does s/he need to comment on report cards? What format does s/he use for writing comments? Can s/he use her own assessments? Are there any kinds of assessments you prefer that s/he use? Does s/he need to post the foreign language standards for the school district in her room or above student work or bulletin boards? What would you like to see on the bulletin boards? What does s/he do about parent/student conferences? Should s/he attend Parent/Teacher Association meetings? 7

8 What is your dress code for teachers? Does s/he have an individual budget for school supplies, field trips, professional development activities? School safety procedures for field trips, recess duty, hall monitoring, fire drills, student discipline, student health emergencies or routine sickness, bullying, or school violence? Rules about corporal punishment? What K-12 resources are there for learning more about China and Chinese? Chinese Art History Time Line for China Discovering the Great Wall Xi'an and the Silk Road Power Point on China U.S. State Department Peace Corps World Wise Schools The British Museum What are the next steps? Step 1: Please fill out the Volunteer Chinese Teacher Exchange Application (pages 9-12) for your school which is included at the end of this catalogue. Ensure that you mark any preferences that you have for your requested teacher (if no preference, please mark No Preference ). Please note that this form is merely for informational purposes only and is not contractual in any way. Step 2: Please fax the completed form to Astar Education Institute. The fax number is (703) Please also provide a cover sheet addressed to Adam Van Scoyoc. Step 3: Receive 3 résumés of qualified teachers to choose from. Determine one candidate whom you are interested in. If you are not satisfied with the selection of résumés we provide, please inform us of your preferences and we will do our best to provide an ideal set of applicants for you. Step 4: Select the teacher whom you would like to hire. Sign the Chinese Teacher Program Agreement which includes the terms of the teaching period and responsibilities of both the teacher and the hosting institution. Interview your teacher via Skype or phone and confirm host family and airport pickup information Step 5: Have your host family pick up your new Chinese instructor from the airport. Allow the teacher to get situated in his/her new town and community. Step 6: Your school begins learning Chinese language and Culture! 8

9 Please fax the completed form to Astar Education Institute. ASTAR EDUCATION INSTITUTE FAX: (703)

10 ASTAR EDUCATION INSTITUTE 7864 Donegan Dr. Manassas, VA Tel: (703) Fax: (703) Astar Education Institute of Northern Virginia is a non-profit organization designated by the US Department of Homeland Security & Immigration to handle international and domestic students. Astar has been offering English and Chinese languages and occupational courses since Volunteer Chinese Teacher Exchange Application School Name School Information School Street Address City/State/Postal Code/Country School Mailing Address (if different from Street Address) City/State/Postal Code/Country Name of Principal or Head of School Name of Human Resource Contact Telephone Number Fax Number Telephone Number Fax Number Address Address Grades in School (e.g., PK-6, 6-8, 9-12) Number of Students Does your school currently offer Chinese language courses? School Governance: Public School Private School Charter School If yes, please indicate the levels offered: Please fill out the following information about preferences for the requested teachers. Preferred Gender of Teacher Male Female Desired Length of Internship 3 months 5-10 months 10+ months Teacher #1 Preference Preferred Age Range of Teacher years years 56+ years Will you be able to provide room/board for Preferred Experience of Teacher 1-3 years 4-6 years Will you be able to provide a stipend for Please indicate amount (per month): $500 $750 Other: 10

11 Preferred Gender of Teacher Male Female Desired Length of Internship 3 months 5-10 months 10+ months Teacher #2 Preference Preferred Age Range of Teacher years years 56+ years Will you be able to provide room/board for Preferred Experience of Teacher 1-3 years 4-6 years Will you be able to provide a stipend for Please indicate amount (per month): $500 $750 Other: Preferred Gender of Teacher Male Female Desired Length of Internship 3 months 5-10 months 10+ months Teacher #3 Preference Preferred Age Range of Teacher years years 56+ years Will you be able to provide room/board for Preferred Experience of Teacher 1-3 years 4-6 years Will you be able to provide a stipend for Please indicate amount (per month): $500 $750 Other: Astar Education Institute performs a background check on all teachers. Additionally, all teachers hold a TESOL certificate and a teaching license from the government of the People s Republic of China. Astar Education Institute provides both medical and accidental insurance for all teachers. I have completed the above application honestly and to the best of my ability and thus show interest in participating in Astar s Volunteer Chinese Teacher Internship Program*. Principal Signature Date *By signing above, you are in no such way held to a contractual agreement with Astar Education Institute. Your signature merely provides Astar a sense of genuine interest in potentially implementing this exchange program. 11