Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 7, 1997
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke visits ancient Chinese school with Washington ties

CHENGDU, China - The oldest continuously operated public school in the world opened its doors today to the first Chinese-American ever elected governor of a U.S. state. Founded in 141 B.C., Shi Shi School welcomed Washington state Gov. Gary Locke, who talked with Chinese students and toured the school.

Locke visited the school to highlight the longest-running successful teacher and student exchange program between the United States and China. Washington's Snohomish High School and Shi Shi High School, in the heart of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, have exchanged students and educators for 13 years.

Locke also toured the school of some 1,700 students in grades 7 through 12 to reinforce the broader educational and cultural relationship between Washington and its sister state Sichuan, the most populous of China's provinces.

"The benefits of sister school and sister state relationships are tremendous," Locke said. "The students of Shi Shi High School and Snohomish High School receive rich academic opportunities along with an experience of a lifetime. At the same time, the communities of Chengdu and Snohomish, and the people of Washington and Sichuan Province, gain a powerful awareness and appreciation for the one another's history and culture," Locke said.

Since the educational and cultural exchange began, Snohomish has sent 21 students to Chengdu to live and study for five weeks, while some five groups of three to four Shi Shi students have traveled to Snohomish to live and study. Each year the exchange program sends a teacher from Snohomish to teach English at Shi Shi, while a teacher from Chengdu teaches classes in Chinese culture and language at Snohomish High School. John Lindblom, an English teacher at Snohomish High School, is teaching this year at Shi Shi and four students will travel to Chengdu from Snohomish in the spring.

"Building understanding between the schools and communities of our countries is important to the success of Washington citizens in the next century," Locke added. "Educational and cultural exchanges such as this enhance the economic competitiveness of Washington citizens and businesses in the world economy and give us not only a better appreciation for the diverse peoples and cultures of the world, but also a greater level of respect for our own country and its history."

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