GKE Project CLASS Initiative

The Global Knowledge Exchange (GKE) and The Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS) are building a robust, large-scale, nationwide “Learning Community” for Chinese language and culture.  Strategic partners include government, higher education, business, and foundations – NEALRC/OSU, EEZ/NYIT, and others.

Important project components include: a fully-articulated standards-based curriculum, innovative performance-based (real world) pedagogy, the Global Multicultural Heritage Project (GMHP), a standardized modern technology infrastructure (Global Classroom), the next generation language teacher professional development Center (CLASS-Net), and an active “Chinese Speaking Countries Connection” that links CLASS teachers and their students with an array of resources in the Far East.  Schools are organized in clusters with initial focus on five states (New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Ohio) and collectively they create a “pipeline” of K-12 Chinese learners that feeds seamlessly into higher education programs in the U.S. and Far East.  While the initial focus is on the Northeast and Midwest, the goal is to quickly scale up and replicate this model nationwide.