Educators Tour Asia and Latin America

Two groups of educators are traveling with Primary Source this spring to gain firsthand knowledge and a deeper understanding of the world. On April 16, 2010, Executive Director Kathy Ennis left Boston to lead a delegation of 30 Massachusetts education leaders on a ten-day tour of China. The following day, a smaller group of teachers led by staff member Julia de la Torre departed on a service learning experience in the Dominican Republic.

The Massachusetts Educational Delegation to China, created in collaboration with EF Education, includes superintendents, principals, and Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester. The group will explore the contemporary Chinese educational system through school visits, formal exchanges with Chinese education professionals, and planned meetings with officials from China's Ministry of Education. Participants will also visit historic and cultural sites in Beijing, Xi'an, and Hong Kong.

The group of teachers traveling to the Dominican Republic will constitute the first Primary Source tour of Latin America. This study tour is designed to provide educators with an understanding of the country's history and culture while also modeling a framework for international service learning. Following a historical exploration of Santo Domingo, the oldest settlement in the New World, teachers will participate in educational exchanges with their local counterparts and experience life with a host family in the barrios of San Cristobal.

Primary Source invites you to follow both tours live on our Facebook page and the Dominican Republic tour on its blog.