District 88 welcomes delegates from China

District 88 Superintendent Dr. Scott Helton (left) and District 88 administrators meet with a Shanghai Municipal delegation. The group visited District 88 on Sept. 9 to learn about the U.S. education system. Also pictured are (from left) Village of Addison Mayor Rich Veenstra, Willowbrook Principal Dr. Daniel Krause and Addison Trail Principal Michael Bolden.

On Sept. 9, District 88 welcomed and hosted a Shanghai Municipal delegation formed with 19 members from various departments of Shanghai Municipal administration.

Those delegates visited the district to learn about the U.S. education system. Topics included:

• Meeting Village of Addison Mayor Rich Veenstra
• An overview of District 88
• Curriculum and instruction
• Instructional supports, special education programming and services provided to meet the needs of the district’s diverse student population
• Technology
• Finances
• A tour of Addison Trail (including observing several classrooms)
• Meeting with Addison Trail senior Yuanxu Zhang to discuss his transition from China to America
• Question-and-answer session

The stop at District 88 was part of the group’s multi-week, civic-minded visit to the Chicago area. The visit was coordinated through a partnership between The University of Chicago and the 21st Century Institute in Oak Brook, which was founded in the 1990s with the goal of designing, developing and delivering exchange programs between China and the U.S. in areas such as economics, public administration, education and other government roles.