Chinese Delegation Visit the Young Ambassadors

On Sunday, our school received a delegation of five educational directors from the Zhejiang Province in China. The delegation came to Petah Tikva as guests of the “Chen” Young Ambassadors School to learn from its unique educational model.

The directors met with Mayor Itzik Braverman and Mr. Rami Hofenberg, Director of Education in Petah Tikva, and exchanged notes on their respective challenges in providing educational opportunities to students of varying backgrounds. Zhejiang Province is home to 54 million citizens, and their educational system includes hundreds of elementary and high schools, and 57 colleges and universities. Like Israel, it faces water shortages, and the Chinese directors mentioned their appreciation for Israeli innovation and specifically drip immigration technology.

Mr. Hofenberg gave a holistic overview of the educational model in the city, for which Petah Tikva received a national prize of excellence in educational achievement in 2015. The group then left to see this pedagogical success in action, at the Bar Lev Elementary School.

At Bar Lev, fifth and sixth grade students from the Young Ambassadors leadership program presented the different extracurricular activities offered at their school. All of the students spoke in English, highlighting the language skills they have received from their “Global Village” project.

The delegation ended its day at the “Chen” Young Ambassadors School, where they heard from our 8th-12th grade students about their courses in Leadership, Journalism, Public Diplomacy and Model United Nations, as well as the delegations abroad. We ended by giving the Chinese guests a book on Israeli-Chinese relations, and of course making plans for future cooperation between our students and students from Zhejiang. It was a very enjoyable and educational experience for everyone involved.