CHINA EXPEDITION

In October, Headmaster Dr. Mitchell Salerno and his team, Darren Bartholomew and Caroline Kirchner, traveled to five cities in China in order to meet with the families of international students. Not only did the team meet with new parents, but some MVC alumni also joined in meetings as translators between the families and the MVC staff.

The goal of the trip is to ensure the parents that their children are receiving the best education possible at MVC. Journalists from the Vista asked a member of the international relations team about their experience across the world. Mrs. Kirchner says, “I really enjoyed meeting the parents because we want to partner with them and not replace them as parents.” The MV staff doesn’t want to replace the parents but wants to work with the parents in educating their children since the students spend the majority of their school year in the United States.

Sources from the Vista learned that many people hear about MVC through these trips. It was mentioned that roughly 10% of families find the school on the internet and about 30% find the school via their agents. The international relations team at MVC loved traveling to China. During this autumn trip they only visited cities in Southern China—Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Shenzhen, but in Spring they will visit cities in both Northern and Central China.

The trip was intense and full of hard work, but was definitely worth it, say administrators. The team loved meeting with the families and visiting the provinces. The experience was extremely helpful in learning where many of our resident students come from. It was also a great way to meet with prospective student’s families about Monte Vista and what it has to offer to international students.

The trip was not only educational for International Student’s families, but also enjoyable for the staff. Mrs. Kirchner mentioned, “Professionally, I love meeting formally and connecting with MVC Chinese parents, but personally I enjoyed informal sightseeing. Two highlights this year were visiting the world's largest Starbucks and going to the top of the world's second tallest building, which is located in Shanghai.”