At the beginning of November, Glenview Park Secondary School (GPSS) principal Kelly Kempel, and Sir John A. MacDonald Secondary School (SJAM) principal Kathy Young, hosted a group of principals from China for an engaged in leadership discussions. The gathering was part of a school exchange program put together by the Ontario Ministry of Education and the Ontario Principals’ Council (OPC). The purpose of the program is to introduce Chinese principals to the leadership programs in Ontario and build international networks.

The first day involved collaborative meetings learning about the education systems in China and Ontario, with Ontario Ministry of Education staff, including Deputy Minister of Education George Zegarac.

The following day, three principals from the Jiangsu province of China enjoyed a full day visit to GPSS. Student leaders welcomed their guests and had the opportunity to discuss the similarities and differences in the educational systems. Two surprising differences that caught the attention the GPSS student leaders: 1) Chinese high school students attend 8 hours of class each day, and 2) the principals shared that Jiangsu province is a leader in Chinese education with 3.59 million students in high school alone, and having schools averaging over 2000 students in each. Wow! That’s a lot of students.

Both Kelly and Kathy were extremely honoured to welcome their visitors, and the valuable learning opportunity it brought.

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WRDSB staff and students with visiting Chinese delegates at GPSS.