Education Takes a Global Perspective

In a five-day whirlwind tour, ten early childhood educators recently made the trip from China to Keene. The group, representing six kindergarten programs from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, arrived on campus in late October for professional development training.

This professional development training is part of a collaborative initiative organized in 2011 by Melinda Treadwell, Shirley McLaughlin, Dottie Bauer, Deirdre McPartlin, and Yi Gong, between Chinese partner institutions and Keene State College. A year later, a delegation from Keene State, including Melinda Treadwell, Ann Rancourt, Bertrand Poirier, and Yi Gong, made the first official trip to the Nanjing Experimental Kindergarten. The visit included classroom observations, meetings with teachers and administrators, and a presentation to the Jiangsu Province Department of Education. The following month, a delegation from the Nanjing Experimental Kindergarten and the Jiangsu Department of Education returned the favor with a visit to Keene State.

The October visit featured tours at a number of elementary schools in the region, professional seminars, field placements for members of the delegation, and panel discussions. The group did find time for tours of campus and the Child Development Center, a reception hosted by Ann Rancourt, and dinner at Zorn North attended by representatives from SAU29.

Keene State College looks forward to the continued association with the partner institutions of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province in China.