La Porte ISD's Global Studies Program receives statewide recognition
from Texas School Business magazine

LA PORTE, TEXAS- Texas School Business magazine has announced that La Porte ISD's Global Studies Program is one of 12 programs to be honored in the magazine's second annual Bragging Rights special issue. Bragging Rights recognizes school districts that have implemented programs that are bettering the lives of students, schools and communities. The special issue was distributed on Dec. 1 to more than 25,000 readers with a vested interest in Texas public education.

Twenty La Porte High School students traveled to China in March 2008 as the first participants in the Global Studies Program, which was organized and funded by the La Porte Education Foundation.  Three educators and a Foundation representative accompanied the students on the trip, where they had the opportunity to attend Nankai High School, stay with a Chinese family, and visit sites such as the Great Wall and Forbidden City.

Twenty-four students from China, along with their vice principal and teacher, will visit La Porte in February 2009, staying with families of La Porte students who participated in the spring.  Another group of 20 La Porte students will be chosen to travel to China in June 2009.

"We were impressed by La Porte ISD's ingenuity in establishing an exchange program so that students can experience an education beyond books and borders," said Texas School Business Editor Katie Ford. "La Porte ISD's China exchange initiative is a model program, and we're proud to highlight it as an example of excellence in Texas public education."

"It's a great honor for our district to be recognized by Texas School Business magazine," said La Porte ISD Superintendent Lloyd W. Graham  "Our Global Studies Program has made a tremendous impact on the students and teachers involved.  We are grateful to our Board of Trustees for supporting the program, former Superintendent Dr. Michael Say and his Administration for facilitating it, and La Porte Education Foundation leaders for spearheading this project and offering this special opportunity to our students."

Don Empfield, 2007-08 president of the La Porte Education Foundation, worked with Foundation members and representatives from La Porte High School in implementing the project. 

"The China Project 2008 was a great opportunity for our students of La Porte ISD, our teachers that participated and the entire community that came together for this event," he said.  "It has become a 'life changing event' for our community through the enhanced knowledge of a significant part of the world that was isolated from us just 30 years ago, but now has been seen and experienced by our youth of La Porte. Relationships have been formed, eyes have been opened and communications established from Tianjin, China, to La Porte, Texas, through this project."

Students and teachers prepared for the trip through "China School" classes held after school and on weekends.  Nancy Li, executive vice president of Easton Resource Development, Inc., worked with the teachers leading the program to help all participants learn about Chinese culture, language, historical sites, and much more.  Li also is working closely with representatives from Nankai High School as they prepare to visit La Porte in February.

"The China Project for La Porte ISD was greatly envisioned and sponsored by La Porte Education Foundation, and I am so happy to see its success and impact on the students and faculty members, as well as the whole community," Li said.  "It is my great pleasure to work with the Foundation in that we brought to La Porte not only a new China, but also a new global vision to our next generation. We are very confident that with the continuing efforts of this project, the seeds of friendship, cooperation and communication with the other side of the world will continue growing and the harvest will be surely greater."

Students who participated in the program continue to keep in touch with their "China buddies," and many feel that they will be lifelong friends.  The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was a special opportunity for La Porte students to correspond with their friends from China, text-messaging back and forth about sites that they had seen first-hand during their visit.

Participants are chosen through an application process in which they answer essay questions about their desire to participate in the trip.  Identifying information is removed from the essays, which are then reviewed and ranked by members of a Foundation committee.  This year's trip participants will be informed of their selection on Dec. 19.

For 55 years, Texas School Business has served as the independent voice for public education in Texas. The magazine, which is produced in Austin and distributed 10 times a year, is read by educators and school administrators across Texas. Nominations for the 2009-2010 issue of Bragging Rights are now being accepted. For more information, visit www.texasschoolbusiness.com.