Today was an exciting day – Snow and I got to talk to a member of the Rural Chinese Education Fund who has been on the ground doing the exact same work that we hope to be doing some day, and she gave us some fantastic insights on the model that RCEF believes in, and how we can help.

Since I found their website from google search a while back, I have been thoroughly impressed by the organization - their responses were prompt, staff were warm, knowledgeable, and reliable, and most importantly, I think they might have a model that work. They are currently working on four private experimental schools in some of the poorest rural regions, where the government has practically given up on the kids. In one incidence, the education bureau, which is in charge of hiring of teachers in public schools, did not hire a single teacher for more than a decade. With natural attrition of teachers, increasing needs of the rural students, and NO new blood coming in, it does not take an investment banker to figure out the schools are severely understaffed with questionable education quality.

Diane, the coordinator on the ground in Shannxi, spoke swiftly yet patiently on the phone. She introduced to us one of their newest projects, a school in Yongji , Shannxi, three hours on the bus away from the famed old capital city of Xi’an. The school was founded by a local couple who decided to not sit aside and watch the quality of education for the kids in their town deteriorate with the decaying of the public schools. They founded this school and have attracted almost 200 students by now. Because it is a non-public school, it has some degree of freedom over its curriculums and more importantly, the hiring of teachers. RCEF is helping them sponsor younger graduates and women with a teaching background in town to come teach in this school. The model, Diane explained, is to help improve the quality of the education signifantly so that in a few years’ time, parents will see the differences in their children and are willing to pay a school fee to help cover the costs so the town can keep this school. In other words, the goal is to have this school stand on its own feet, maintained and funded by the local communities in a few years’ time. “We are working to encourage more local involvement right now,” she explained.

Freedom over curriculum, young and vibrant teachers, local involvement, is it just me or do these words sound better than Prada and Louis Vuitton?

So it is official – in a few weeks, we are going to visit our very first potential school site. I made a mental note to myself to ask my parents send over the loads of books and English tapes that I used in high school. My parents have been complaining about them taking up too much space in the house and I stubbornly refused to toss them out because they bring back so many memories of my childhood; the thought of them never seeing the light of the day again is unbearable. Now I cannot think of a better new home for them!