Newark, DE – Tomorrow morning, August 7, at 8:30 a.m., County Executive Matt Meyer will facilitate a video conference call between Christina School District elementary school students and students at an after-school English learning center in Beijing, China. Delaware’s local participants are enrolled in the Chinese Language Immersion Program at John R. Downes Elementary School, and the live video conference, which will feature questions and answers by participating students in English and Chinese, will take place at the Newark Free Library, 750 Library Avenue, Newark. Members of the media are invited to attend and cover the video conference. One-on-one interview with Delaware participants are available following the call. Members of the media interested in covering the program should contact Jason Miller at [email protected] or 302-545-1462.
Last week, New Castle County announced that County Executive Meyer was selected by the China-US Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) to lead a delegation of rising star elected American officials to China. Meyer arrived in Beijing over the weekend for the start of two weeks of meetings and other events in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. CUSEF, an independent, non-profit organization based in Hong Kong, sponsors exchange programs and other initiatives to promote dialogue, deepen connections and enhance strategic cooperation between the United State and China. No taxpayer funds will be spent on the trip.
Meyer will join tomorrow’s videoconference from Beijing, along with students from Best Learning English, one of China’s leading after-school English training company for young learners. Best Learning English currently employs over 200 language instructors from the United States and serves more than 20,000 children ages 3-12 across China.
Downes Elementary has been offering Chinese Language Immersion for six years as part of Delaware’s innovative Delaware’s statewide world language immersion program. Launched by then-Governor Jack Markell in 2011, it is designed to prepare generations of Delaware students with advanced-level language skills, with instruction beginning in Kindergarten, to compete in an ever-changing global economy at home and around the world.
Learn more about Meyer’s delegation travel to China at http://nccde.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1511.
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Contact: Jason Miller, Director of Communications, 302-545-1462