Audubon Charter School to host a teacher from China through state department program

Audubon officials greet Xiong Jun as she arrives in New Orleans. (From L to R:) Janice Dupuy (Principal/CEO), Xiong Jun (Mandarin Chinese teacher), Catherine Bricelj (French program director), Claudine Adams (elementary French teacher), and LaToye Brown (Assistant Principal).

Xiong Jun from China has been awarded a fellowship from the U.S. Department of State to participate in the 2014 Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP). She will teach Chinese for a full academic year at Audubon Charter School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Audubon Charter School has participated in a nation-wide competition in order to host a TCLP teacher and Xiong Jun is one of a total of 22 teachers who have been selected from China and Egypt for participation in TCLP.

TCLP is designed to increase the study and acquisition of important world languages in U.S. schools. This program enables primary and secondary schools to strengthen their teaching of critical languages by bringing Egyptian and Chinese teachers to the U.S. to teach Arabic and Chinese language for an academic year. Launched in 2006, TCLP has provided fellowships to over 190 primary and secondary school teachers of English from Egypt and China to teach in K-12 schools throughout the United States.  

In addition to teaching their native languages, TCLP exchange teachers expand the understanding of the world in their U.S. host communities by establishing strong ties with teachers, students, parents and members of community, and by sharing information about their home countries and cultures. At the same time, teachers gain first-hand knowledge of the United States to share with students and fellow teachers in their home countries. Upon return, many of them establish lasting bonds between their U.S. host schools and their home schools in Egypt and China.  

TCLP is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which promotes international mutual understanding through a wide range of academic, cultural, private-sector, professional and sports exchange programs. These exchanges engage youth, students, educators, artists, athletes and emerging leaders in the United States and in more than 160 countries. Alumni of ECA exchanges comprise over one million people around the world, including more than 50 Nobel Laureates and more than 350 current or former heads of state and government.  

TCLP is implemented by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, an international nonprofit organization that prepares individuals and institutions to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world. Since 1974, American Councils has responded to the needs of the communities where it works with hundreds of robust, international education programs that include academic exchanges, language immersion, testing and assessment, professional training, community development, and scholarly research.

Audubon Charter School's mission is to foster a culturally rich and academically rigorous program using the French and Montessori curriculum and a comprehensive arts curriculum.