The 9th Annual Meeting of the National Association of Chinese Schools and Chinese Education Seminar was held

The 9th Annual Meeting of the National Association of Chinese Schools and the Chinese Education Seminar was held. News downloaded from: "China Chinese Education Network" of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council …

A group photo of the new board of directors

A group photo of the association board of directors, consultants and leaders of the other three major Chinese education organizations in the United States after the discussion

The ninth national congress and Chinese education seminar of the National Association of Chinese Schools was successfully held on December 7-9 at the Millennium Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The seminar with the theme of "Gathering Strength, Broadening Channels, and Deep Development" attracted nearly 200 school directors, principals, provosts and teachers from all over the United States to participate. The city of Cincinnati specially designated December 8, the opening ceremony of the conference, as Cincinnati’s “National Association of Chinese Schools Day”, creating a strong atmosphere for the conference and highlighting that “Chinese fever” has occupied a prominent position throughout the United States.

At the opening ceremony, after President Liao Qihong delivered the opening speech, special guests Mark Mallory, Mayor of Cincinnati, Chinese American Mayor Lee Wong of West Chester, Ohio, Lei Zhengang, Director of the Culture Department of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, Qiu Liguo, Director of the Chinese Education Division of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, Zhou Limin, Deputy Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in New York, etc. also delivered speeches; Ohio Governor John R. Kasich Specially appointed representatives spoke at the conference and awarded certificates to the association. U.S. Representative Ms. Zhao Meixin sent a video speech for the opening ceremony of the conference, thanking the National Chinese Schools Association for playing an active leading role in various aspects for Chinese groups in the United States. Also sending congratulatory letters to the conference: Ma Rupei, deputy director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of China, and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio Department of Education, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Beijing Municipal People's Government, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Sichuan Provincial People's Government, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Liaoning Provincial People's Government, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Zhejiang Provincial People's Government, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Shandong Provincial People's Government, National Federation of Chinese Schools, National Association of Chinese Teachers, National Association of Elementary and Secondary School Chinese Teachers, Nanjing Xiaozhuang College, and the National Council of Chinese Americans, etc. Association President Liao Qihong made a work report at the conference, summarizing the association's work in the past two years and looking forward to the new direction of the association's future development.

Ms. Junman Zhang, former Assistant Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, served as a guest speaker at the conference and gave a special speech to the conference delegates at the opening ceremony. During her tenure at the U.S. Department of Education, Zhang Junman made many contributions to the establishment of a diversified education system and the improvement of government funding mechanisms. During the special discussion, she explained to the participants the opportunities and difficulties faced by Chinese education from the perspective of government operations, and provided useful information and valuable suggestions for Chinese schools to apply for the channels, methods and methods for U.S. government funding for foreign language education.

One of the highlights of this conference is that the conference invited representatives from three other major organizations in the Chinese education industry in the United States, namely Jia Baocai, president of the Chinese Association of Primary and Secondary School Teachers of America (CLASS), Chen Yafen, CEO of the Chinese College Teachers Association of America (CLTA), and Pang Baosheng, president of the National Association of Chinese Schools (Chinese schools with mainly traditional Chinese characters), were invited to participate in the conference. They held a symposium with representatives attending the meeting and discussed issues such as mutual cooperation, resource integration and resource sharing among associations. For the first time, the four major Chinese education organizations in the United States gathered together to discuss how to join forces, help each other, and discuss plans for Chinese education in the United States, laying the foundation for the future development of Chinese education in the United States. This is a historic gathering. The theme of the conference "Gathering Strength, Broadening Channels, and In-depth Development" is also more far-reaching because of the alliance of the four fraternal organizations. It will push Chinese education in the United States to a new height and write a new chapter for the promotion of Chinese language and culture.

On the evening of December 7, the organizing committee of the conference arranged three special lectures. University professors and Chinese education experts gave special lectures. The speeches included the success and demonstration of the "Performance Cultural Teaching Method"; an introduction to the characteristics and results of the concentrated literacy method in modern Chinese education; and American Chinese education research reports and suggestions. Dr. Wu Weike, professor of the Department of East Asian Languages ​​and Literatures at The Ohio State University and director of the National East Asian Language Resource Center, proposed the theory of "physical performance teaching method" and demonstrated it on the spot, giving the guests present a new perspective to think about the concept of Chinese education. Before the official opening of the conference, the participants had already felt the strong atmosphere of academic seminars on Chinese education.

On the afternoon of the 8th, the seminars at the four branch venues were fully launched. 40 speakers from member schools from various places delivered more than 40 papers at each branch venue. This conference discussed issues such as the mainstreaming of Chinese education in the United States, the exchange and summary of Chinese teaching experience, the development and utilization of modern education methods, and the sharing of educational resources among major Chinese education organizations. Representatives exchanged experiences and had active discussions in group paper report meetings on the problems and challenges faced by their schools. The academic discussion atmosphere in each branch venue was quite lively.

The conference held a welcome dinner and awards ceremony on the evening of the 8th, awarding certificates and medals to more than 100 volunteers across the United States who have made outstanding contributions to Chinese education. During the dinner, the delegates enjoyed the wonderful cultural program prepared by students and parents of Greater Cincinnati Chinese School for the conference.

On the morning of the 9th, the conference first summarized the results of the discussions in the previous two days. The participants put forward many useful suggestions for the future work of the association. The person in charge of the association said that in the future, they will continue to carry out large-scale Chinese education activities on a larger scale, promote contacts and experience exchanges among the heads of member schools, actively promote the sharing of resources in the association, and work together to promote the mainstreaming of Chinese education and other goals.

A board of directors election was also held on the morning of the 9th. Shuai Zhiruo and Zheng Lianggen were elected as the president and vice president of the National Chinese Schools Association respectively. Seven other directors, including Ren Gang, He Zhenyu, Shao Aiping, Liu Shen, Ni Xiaopeng, Zhang Xingyu and Jiang Xinrong, were elected to form the tenth council. At this point, the Ninth National Congress of the National Association of Chinese Schools and the Chinese Education Seminar were successfully concluded in a friendly and pleasant atmosphere.

The National Association of Chinese Schools is a non-profit non-profit organization with more than 410 member schools in 43 states in the United States, with more than 100,000 students enrolled. Its services and influence reach thousands of Chinese families in the United States. As the largest Chinese organization in the United States, the association plays an important role in uniting the strength of the Chinese people, spreading Chinese culture, and promoting friendship between the United States and China in a multicultural environment. (Contributed by the Conference Secretariat)