ACES ECA formalizes partnership with Chinese Ministry of Education

June 15th, 2017

ACES ECA in New Haven formalizes partnership

with Chinese Ministry of Education
 

From left, Liu Xuguang, Jason Hiruo, Jin Yunhua, Tim Howes and Feng Ruobing, following a meeting to discuss
an agreement between ACES ECA and the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange.
Photo credit: Brian Zahn/Hearst Connecticut Media
 

By Brian Zahn, New Haven Register
POSTED: 06/14/17, 2:10 PM EDT 

On Wednesday, representatives from Chivast Education International, an affiliate of the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, met with ACES ECA officials to sign an agreement allowing for an exchange program that would allow several Chinese students to attend the arts-focused magnet school for a year. CSCSE is part of the Chinese Ministry of Education.

“ACES ECA is the oldest arts magnet school in Connecticut,” said Evelyn Rossetti-Ryan, ACES interim chief of marketing and outreach. “This is our next step for us to bring it to a world stage.”

Tim Howes, ACES assistant executive director of finance and operations, said ACES ECA is the first American public high school to sign such an agreement with Chinese education officials.

ACES ECA Director Jason Hiruo had existing connections to China, Howes said, and more than 100 American students and faculty have had opportunities to travel to China for cultural immersion trips.

Following a meeting with three Chivast executives, Hiruo told reporters they discussed how ACES ECA can enrich education by “stretching education beyond the traditional arts.”

“These are becoming greater values across the world,” he said.

Jin Yunhua, general manager of Chivast, said Chinese education is often more “traditional” and teacher-led, with ACES ECA offering exposure to more contemporary arts.

Liu Xuguang, director of the department of program development with Chivast, said ACES ECA can offer opportunities for students to express themselves creatively; the Chinese educational system, which places an emphasis on studying and academic learning, does not offer as many opportunities, especially outside of major cities.

Xuguang said the three Chivast representatives all were born in the 1980s, and the partnership with ACES ECA represents a change in Chinese thinking about education since then.

“Times have changed,” he said. “China was focusing on economic development.”

Now that China is a financial superpower, he said, students are being encouraged more to focus on their individuality.

In the first year of the exchange program, Howes said ACES ECA expects to accept approximately five students, who must audition for the program like all other students, on a full scholarship. For a two-week summer program, the school hopes to accept 40 to 60 Chinese students.

As the school prepares to bring international students to New Haven, Rossetti-Ryan said there also remains an opportunity to bring international faculty.

“New Haven is a well-established city and Yale is so prominent,” she said.

At a Chinese expo, Howes said New Haven and Yale were known by representatives from many countries, such as Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

Although China was a natural first partner for the school given Hiruo’s existing connections within the country, Howes said ACES ECA is looking to expand and to become even more international. On the list of countries considered for expansion, he said, are Japan, Australia, Spain and Germany.

View the article on the New Haven Register's website.