Seven school superintendents from Indiana, upon entering the auditorium, were greeted with a huge sign draped across the back of the stage.  Mostly in Chinese, it also proclaimed in English, “Zhejiang-Indiana Basic Education Forum.”  That was the scene at Huzhou (pronounced who-zhō) High School where State Superintendent Glenda Ritz and six other members of her delegation spoke through translators to about 150 Chinese principals.  Presenters and their topics were as follows:

State Superintendent Glenda Ritz - Keynote on Indiana education and intercultural exchange

Dr. Kathy Steele, Superintendent at Crawfordsville - The Governance of public education in the U.S.

Dr. Jim Roberts, Superintendent at Batesville - Challenges financing education and educational exchange

Mr. Tom Hunter, Superintendent at Greensburg & Dr. Ginger Bolinger, Superintendent at Madison - Teaching creativity, problem solving, and cooperation

Mr. Mark Millis, Asst. Superintendent at Richmond - The American high school

Mr. Phil Boley, Executive Director of Global Indiana - Sustaining a valuable school partnership

Following the full morning of speeches, the principals and visitors joined one another for lunch.  All were satisfied with the conference and expressed the desire to more such gatherings.    

On Monday, October 14th, during a mission jointly sponsored by Global Indiana, the Chinese Education Connection, and the Indiana Department of Education Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Glenda Ritz, signed a historic memo in concert with her counterpart in Zhejiang Province, Indiana’s sister state in China.  The memorandum of understanding includes the following:

• The creation of sister school relationships including annual invitations to students and teachers visiting each other through camp and travel opportunities
  
• The promotion of foreign study opportunities for students in the sister states
  
• Assistance, information, and services for students seeking educational opportunities and scholarships
  
• The encouragement of joint efforts in language teaching, which may include training, recruitment, and placement
  
• The promotion of exchange and leadership training opportunities for principals and teachers
  
• The designation of Global Indiana and the Chinese Education Connection as facilitators in fulfilling the terms of the MOU