American and Chinese students are attending classes together so they can interact and learn more about each others culture.

SCVi Charter School hosted 23 learners from China as part of a Cultural Exchange program through the American International Education Group.

Both Chinese education and SCVi officials said the idea behind the program was fostering relationships between the two countries, not just classroom learning.

“The entire point of this program is for the Chinese learners to interact with American students,” said Sara Brown, community outreach coordinator for SCVi. “We want to encourage them to learn about other countries and culture.”

The visiting learners were welcomed into the classrooms as they were immersed in a language and cultural experience program expanding from last Monday through this Thursday, Brown said.

Each visiting learner wrote a letter to the program and was matched with a learner from the SCVi as a buddy who will stay with them throughout the week at school.

Their SCVi buddies will show them around the school, help them with their class work and teach them the little things about American culture.

The Chinese learners are participating in all classroom activities and lesson plans, including math and language arts.

The SCVi is hoping to coordinate an exchange next year, in which they can send some of their own students to China.

“Social media is making the world smaller,” Brown said. “It’s important for the kids to learn that and that interaction with different cultures is extremely important.”

– Evan Stevens