Special School Board Meeting to Consider Pasadena-China Student Exchange

The unique opportunity for Wilson middle-schoolers to participate in an exchange program with Chinese students is on the Feb. 7, Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education meeting agenda.
The program is being arranged by Boston-based StarRight Education Inc., which specializes in this type of cross-cultural collaboration with China.
The school board will weigh approval of a strategic partnership agreement between Pasadena’s school district, StarRight, and Huzhou No. 4 Middle School Education Group in China.
If approved, the school heads at each institution will sign a memorandum of understanding putting the program into effect.
The program will provide the opportunity for Chinese international students to visit and take classes at PUSD schools, specifically at Wilson Middle School. At the same time, PUSD students can visit and take classes at Huzhou No. 4 Middle School.
The exchange is intended to broaden the educational experience of both visiting and hosting students. A staff report said Chinese students will be participating in Wilson Middle School’s daily life from Feb. 11 through Feb. 15.
If successful, this student exchange program can be extended to other PUSD schools, according to a related staff report.
StarRight administers immersion-learning exchange programs for Chinese and American students in three states. From middle-schoolers to university level students, the programs open on a door on five days to two weeks of living and learning far from home with students raised in a very different culture.
Also on the agenda for Thursday’s school board meeting is a recommendation to amend the contract with Maxim Staffing Solutions, which hires licensed nurses for PUSD schools.
From a contract amount of $90,000, that was approved at the beginning of the school year to cover school nursing services, the amount is being raised to $180,000 to maintain licensed vocational nurse positions through June 30, according to the district.
Also under consideration is a presentation by PUSD staff of a program to replace suspension from classes as a disciplinary measure.
The special school board meeting begins at 4 p.m. at the Elbie J. Hickambottom Board Room at PUSD, 351 South Hudson Avenue in Pasadena.