|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 8/31/2007 |
|
|
FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT: Judy Everett Ramos, 817-399-2025 |
|
|
|
|
| When Bhavani Parpia spoke to students while visiting schools in China this summer, she heard the same thing over and over.
“All the Chinese students want to attend college in the United States, which creates extra competition for American students trying to attend college here. Our new programs give our students that extra edge to compete,” Parpia said. Parpia is the district’s coordinator for the new International Business Initiative (IBI), which offers Hindi and Mandarin Chinese languages this year for seventh grade students attending Central Junior High School. “Because of the population explosion in China and India, their universities cannot enroll all the students who want to attend college,” Parpia said. “ They cannot keep up with demand.” Parpia said that more of America’s top colleges and universities are reserving slots for Chinese and Indian students. “They know how to study, they have a great work ethic, and they are bilingual, because they learn English in their home country. They make great students at any university. Our students need to be able to compete with that.” By offering the IBI classes, beginning in junior high, HEB students learn languages that are critical to compete in a global market place when they graduate from high school. “Our students will learn more than just how to speak, read, and write Hindi and Mandarin,” Parpia said. “They will learn about culture, geography, and history of these two countries. They will learn how these factors come together to impact that part of the world, as well as the United States.” For example, students will learn about British Imperialism’s affect on both India and China. They will learn about Communism and its affect on China. Students in both classes will learn about the countries and the languages through literature. “When you combine the IBI program with our International Baccalaureate program, you are offering the best foundation for any student trying to enter a top university and compete in a global economy,” Parpia said. For the last two summers, district administrators have traveled to China as guests of the Chinese government, to learn more about the culture as they prepared to offer IBI. This summer, Parpia, Bettye Edgington, advanced academics coordinator, and David Robbins, principal of Central Junior High School, made the trip. In 2006, Superintendent Dr. Gene Buinger and Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Jim Short traveled to China. ### HEB - Empowering Today to Excel Tomorrow |
|