The first delegation since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Minneapolis on Sunday, July 23, from Minneapolis’ Sister City in China, Harbin, for a brief but productive day and a half of meetings and friendship connections. Headed by Harbin’s Vice Mayor Ms. ZHANG Haihua, the delegation included the Director General of the Harbin Education Bureau Mr. HE Quan, the Deputy Director General of the Harbin Foreign Affairs Office (HFAO), Mr. GAO Yueming, the principals (headmasters) of the Harbin No. 1 Middle School and the Harbin No. 3 Middle School (what we in the U.S. would call “High Schools), Mr. XIAO Guangsheng and Mr. WANG Mingwei, and Ms. YU Xintong, the Vice Division Chief of the European and American Division of the HFAO.
After receiving the delegation at the airport, Meet Minneapolis and the USCPFA-MN hosted a dinner at Khaluna, a local Laotian-fusion restaurant. USCPFA-MN Co-Presidents Glynis Hinschberger and Margaret Wong together with several Board members welcomed the delegation and shared views on their experiences with education in the face of recent challenges.
The next day began with a cordial meeting with the Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, where the parties reconfirmed their commitments to mutual exchanges and connections. The delegation next met with Prof. Joe Nathan, a leading educator, advisor to several U.S. Presidents, and founder of the Center for School Change. The group exchanged experiences and Prof. Nathan generously shared his group’s research and resources on assessment and other issues of interest to the delegation. Following a Szechuan Chinese lunch, the group met with leaders of the Minneapolis School Superintendent’s office, including Dr. Aimee Fearing (Senior Officer of Academics) and several District office colleagues to discuss the challenges faced by the District given the pandemic interruption, demographic trends, and the technology of cell phones, social media, and related issues. The delegation then visited briefly with the founder (James Sewell) and Executive Director (Eve Schulte) of the James Sewell Ballet, where they viewed a brief rehearsal and discussed the potential for student exchanges in the art of dance.
Dr. Aimee Fearing and colleagues meet with Director General He and Headmasters Xiao and Wang
At the concluding dinner, the delegation and the USCPFA-MN / Meet Minneapolis hosts exchanged toasts expressing optimism and energy toward a renewal and strengthening of people-to-people relationships between Harbin and Minneapolis.
Vice Mayor Zhang with USCPFA-MN Co-Presidents Margaret Wong and Glynis Hinschberger