Ross Institute Marks Ross School's 20th Anniversary with Expanded School-Wide Focus on Chinese Language, History and Culture

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y., Oct. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Ross School and its origins as a study trip to Asia, the Ross Institute Board of Trustees is pleased to announce a renewed emphasis on Chinese language and culture at Ross School, advancing the School's mission of educating "the whole child for the whole world."

This important initiative is manifest in current Ross School projects including the expansion of Mandarin Chinese language as a required part of the core curriculum, a review of curriculum across all grade levels to more fully address Chinese cultural history, and China as the sole international destination of this year's annual three-week study abroad trips (known as "M-Term").

"From the very beginning, my late husband, Steven J. Ross, and I envisioned offering students of all nationalities and backgrounds a comprehensive interdisciplinary education that would deepen their understanding of other cultures and prepare them to engage with and participate fully in the global community. Fulfilling this goal requires a continual examination of how we implement the mission at the School. Emphasizing and enhancing Chinese language and culture at Ross School reflects what we discern will be valuable and necessary in the future. Aiming to teach the whole child for the whole world requires anticipating the needs of the future and addressing these in the present," said Founder, Courtney Sale Ross.

Long recognized as a pioneer and leader in global education, Ross School educates students in grades pre-nursery through 12 with an interdisciplinary spiral curriculum, which integrates learning across mathematics, history, science, arts, language, wellness and media studies and facilitates the 500 day and boarding students in attendance to gain integrated content knowledge and develop intercultural understanding through classroom experiences, on-site learning and travel. Ross students have learned about Asian cultures since the School's inception in 1991, and Mandarin Chinese instruction has been offered as an elective since 1998.

Mandarin Chinese Program expands to become an integral part of Ross School's Core Curriculum

To advance Ross School's commitment to cross-culture learning, students in grades kindergarten through four now study Mandarin Chinese as part of the core curriculum. Grades five through 12 will study Mandarin Chinese as part of their core curriculum beginning next year.  Because it takes longer to become fluent in Mandarin, we want to introduce our students to the language at the lowest grade levels. Additional languages are also offered, providing students with the opportunity to become trilingual.

Ross School 2012 Winter Intersession international trips will travel solely to China

To mark the 20th anniversary of Ross School, all 2012 international M-term (winter intersession) trips, which occur over a three-week period between winter and spring terms, will travel to China. Each year, M-term is an opportunity for high school students and teachers to work intensively on group and individual projects, many of which occur in conjunction with travel, both abroad and within the U.S. M-term exemplifies the Ross tradition of distance learning and cultural immersion. Past international M-terms have included a photography trip through the Australian outback, an ethnomusicology trip to Ghana, an ecology trip to Costa Rica, and a community service project in Thailand, among many others. Although Ross students have explored 25 countries as part of M-term over the past two decades, China has not yet been one of the M-term destinations.

In the tradition of Ross M-term, the trips to China will address topics including ethnomusicology, natural science, arts, history and culture, environmental studies and service learning. All of the trips will culminate in Shanghai to join Courtney Ross at the Shanghai Museum's Multi-Media and Communications Center, donated by Steven J. and Courtney Sale Ross, for a presentation of their learning from across China.

Ross School started in Asia when Courtney and Steven J. Ross took their daughter and her best friend on a study trip to China and Japan in 1991. They learned the history of the Chinese empire while climbing the Great Wall and were educated about Chinese culture by meeting and interacting with people of all ages and backgrounds who they met along the way. Since then, Ross School has grown and changed in so many ways, but the interest in deeply understanding and building relations with China has remained a constant thread through the School's history.  

The Ross Institute Board of Trustees, the governing board of Ross School, feels strongly that the expanded Chinese language and culture initiative reinforces Ross School's mission. "As stewards of Ross Institute and School, we are guided by the Founder's vision and the School's mission to ensure that all students are well-equipped to succeed in life. Expanding opportunities at Ross School for students to deeply understand China through study of Chinese culture and Mandarin Chinese reflects our responsibility to assure that students leave Ross School with many opportunities and options," said Board Member, Dr. Catherine Hickey, former Secretary of Education and Superintendent of Schools, Archdiocese of New York.  

Ross School

Ross School, founded by Courtney Sale Ross in 1991, is an accredited independent school for pre-nursery through grade twelve with campuses in East Hampton and Bridgehampton, New York. Ross provides a global curriculum in science, arts, mathematics, humanities and wellness, as well as competitive athletics, college placement and opportunities for travel.

www.ross.org

Ross Institute

The Ross Institute, established in 1996 by Courtney Sale Ross to promote understanding of the implications of globalization for pre-collegiate education, is a non-profit education organization with offices in New York and Stockholm. The Ross Institute collaborates with leading scholars, educators and policy-makers from organizations such as Harvard University's Graduate School of Education and New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development in support of innovative research and practices in global education. The Ross Institute operates Ross School, which serves as a lab school for the Ross Model, and offers educators worldwide professional development and consulting based on the Ross Model. Teachers and administrators from public and private schools are offered workshops, ongoing mentoring, and virtual professional development through technology. Ross Institute also offers consulting services to groups and organizations.

www.rossinstitute.org

CONTACT:  Monique Valeris, +1-646-572-0587, [email protected]

SOURCE Ross Institute