Wolf Creek Public Schools is pursuing a first of its kind educational partnership in Alberta as they look at signing a formal agreement with a district in China, opening the door for both inbound and outbound educational exchanges for years to come.

A school district in Guangzhou China has long desired a partnership like this one.   In fact their province has enjoyed a provincial agreement with the Alberta government since 2004, and they were seeking out a more rural area to create educational opportunities for their students.

Superintendent Jayson Lovell says central Alberta offers the perfect fit and is a stark contrast from this region in China.

“It is actually population wise, about 110 million people in that area, the region that we are looking at specifically, Guangzhou is about 44 million people and then we get into Liwan district which is probably in the neighbourhood of you know 30-40,000 school aged children, just in that particular district, understanding that within Guangzhou there is 6 large districts within that particular city”.

Lovell says there's a lot of industry, manufacturing, and technology in Guangzhou, the region is an economic driver in China and of course very urban, which he says all provide great learning opportunities for students.

 “We really believe our students are in a time when it is important to understand a little bit more about what’s outside our borders of Wolf Creek Public Schools.  We do seek those cultural and academic opportunities so that communication and just appreciating other cultures, recognizing that there is an international community and more of a global perspective that is really important for our students”.

These student exchanges would be available at a relatively low cost according to Lovell, making the experience much more attainable for all students when compared to current international trips they offer, which are booked through travel providers.

“This will create I think a much easier accessibility and equity for all students across Wolf Creek and not just maybe those families or students that have the means to travel internationally”.

If the partnership is signed, Lacombe Composite High School would start as an incubator school, potentially hosting students from China as early as this summer, but Lovell says the plan would be to open up these student exchanges to all high school students in the division and potentially junior high students down the road.

Lovell will be making a trip to China in March to ensure the partnership is a good fit for the school division.