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Chinese principals meet with Governor Bredesen

Office of International Affairs

The 2009 Educational Leadership Learning Exchange cohort of Chinese principals from Guangzhou China, met with Governor Phil Bredesen on November 5, 2009.

A group of twenty-seven Chinese K-12 principals, in addition to faculty members from the South China Normal University, were in Nashville and at Vanderbilt University from Oct. 26 until Nov. 6. While here, the educators were exposed to the latest information within the field of U.S. education policy in addition to visiting various American classrooms and observing American teaching techniques firsthand. During the two-week trip, the participants visited Nashville public schools, attended lectures from Peabody education experts, shadowed local school teachers, and received a taste of Music City through a variety of culturally-rich activities.

ELLE, a cross-cultural leadership exchange program, is an integral component of the Principals' Leadership Academy of Nashville (PLAN) at Peabody College of Education and Human Development. PLAN is a partnership that links Vanderbilt University, the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and the Nashville Public Education Foundation.

ELLE aims to promote international dialogue and exchange across multifarious bodies of education. Since the fall of 2005, ELLE has worked to facilitate collaborative programs between the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, the Peabody College, and the South China Normal University.

ELLE is directed by Tom Ward, a lecturer and researcher at Peabody.