"Greatness through knowledge, integrity and innovation."
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Table of ContentsFrequently Asked Questions
Contact Information |
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Frequently Asked Questions:
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Why is YCID different from other international schools in China?
YCID has a spirit of freedom and exploration based on the foundation of reading the best of western literature, science, and social commentary, with a deep commitment to critical thinking, inquiry and classroom dialogs. YCID also understands the importance of our students competing in the international college application process and so embraces traditional preparation methods for students' success in TOEFL and SAT exams; by doing so we integrate skilled Chinese teachers to guide students in the fundamentals of vocabulary, sentence structures, grammar and reading analysis. Our program proudly maintains the very best of the Chinese traditional courses in mathematics, sciences, Chinese and English, all taught by Chinese staff, but adapted to our international standards. Teachers and students all learn new things every day! How do you calculate GPA if you have Chinese and American courses? YCID students receive grades using two different systems amongst their Chinese courses – 100% scale and letter grades. Students receive letter grades in their International Department courses. To calculate GPA, all grades - 100% scale and letter - are converted to the appropriate grade points (using the 4.0 grade scale), then divided by the total course being taken by the student for that semester. All courses except College and Career Readiness, Language Strategies and Advisory are computed into the GPA. YCID does not use a student ranking system, and student GPAs are unweighted. Please refer to our YCID School Profile document found in our Document Library above for more detailed information. What kind of accreditation does your school have? Yucai High is accredited by the Nanshan District, Shenzhen City and People’s Republic of China. YCID is entering the third year and will start the process of accreditation with Yucai High using international criteria; projected accreditation is 2015. Why did you decide to start an International Department at your High School? About one-fifth of our students were leaving Yucai High to go abroad and we decided it was best to accommodate them in our school if we could. The decision was made at the High School department level and approved by the school District. Who developed the International Department at Yucai High? YCID was developed by Chinese Yucai officials and foreign experts that had lived and worked in education in China for decades. These experts determined the type of curriculum that best suited a top-notch high school in China. Curriculum designers were then hired from Stanford University to create initial curriculum. The curriculum was then tested in summer International Course pilot programs conducted by American and Chinese teacher cohorts for two years before full day implementation. Upon implementation, YCID teachers worked in conjunction with Program Director Chris Young to develop and refine the curriculum based on three-year thematic sequences. The majority of course use original texts, shared inquiry roundtable methods and innovative activities and events which we call the Great Books curriculum. Do your American teachers have teaching credentials from the USA? All teachers in YCID are certified teachers in both the USA and China. All YCID American teachers are Great Books certified in level 100 – 103 with more than 120 hours of supervised classroom training. How would you describe your students? Ninety percent of the YCID students come from our prestigious Yucai High school as entering sophomores. In order to qualify for admission to YCHS, students must qualify with satisfactory marks on the high school entrance examination, conducted by the city's education bureau. Upon admission, new YCHS students choose either the traditional YCHS route, which will prepare them for Chinese universities, or the International Program, which will prepare them for American universities. This forms the core class of about 25-28 sophomores in one class. At the traditional High School, students are grouped and tracked according to academic strength; however, our department serves students of different academic ability levels, so differentiation in the classroom is paramount. This is one pedagogical technique that is employed in the Great Books courses, as our American teachers have been thoroughly trained in the practice of differentiation throughout their credentialing process and American teaching careers. Ultimately, the nature of a classroom of mixed abilities - an uncommon practice in China - offers a diverse range of talents and perspectives to flourish and be celebrated within the student body. Our students have a wide range of interests, passions, and pursuits, which is shown in the many different majors our students want to pursue at the university level. Our graduating class of 2014 have applied with the declared majors of Journalism, Biomedicine, International Relations, Computer Engineering, Entomology, Business Management, Psychology, and Sociology, to name a few. Is your school public or private? YCID is a public-private venture with assistance from the Shenzhen City College staff, and InterLangua, LLC a private venture based in the USA, China and Guatemala. YCID families pay tuitions to cover the expense of the new department including using internet technology, American teachers and staff, testing strategies classes and career exploration /college placement programs. Do our students use agents to help them with college applications? We do all college counseling in-house, although some students and parents also choose to hire an additional agent. We value the integrity of our program, and encourage students to reside with one source of counseling. If students and parents choose to hire an agent, we define a contract to integrate the agent's counseling in order to generate a holistic decision for the student. |
10 Fundamentals of YCID
- A rigorous, college preparatory core curriculum rooted in the discussion-based shared inquiry methods and content of the Great Books Foundation. Currently, we are the only designated partner of Great Books in China.
- A 100% English environment in courses developed and taught by Great Books certified and US-certificated teachers, emphasizing independent, critical thinking and comparative analysis of Western themes, values and ideas, multiple perspectives, and a balance of lecture with student-centered activities.
- Project-based learning in our Integrated Studies courses, and throughout our program, that leads to YCID students becoming effective collaborators and innovators of original products and ideas.
- Experiential, holistic, and service-learning values promoted in 120-hour Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) requirement, modeled after the noted IB Diploma Programme component of the same name.
- A three-year College to Careers Readiness course designed to first help students develop their individual identity, sense of purpose and interests before authentic exploration of fields of study and careers, including exposure to notable guest speakers, job shadows or internships. Students are also introduced to typical systems, services, and processes they are likely to encounter on US campuses.
- A growing internship program with Chinese and US partners. Most of our students complete internships, summer study tours or educational enrichment programs within or outside of China.
- An advisory program that equips students with the ability to self-advocate, further develop emotional intelligence, and other practical and character-building skills that will empower them to healthily and effectively navigate college life and US culture.
- An annual “Dragon and Eagle Dialogue” wherein a salient current issue is discussed in-depth amongst YCID students and American or other non-Chinese students.
- Typical American holiday celebrations and a physical education course that expose students to these fundamental elements of American culture they will inevitably encounter while in the US.
- FabLabs@Schools in partnership with Stanford University and student-maintained organic gardens. Use of cutting-edge technologies and ecological awareness are two additional foci of YCID.
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YuCai High School - International Department
No. 6 Industrial Road, No 2, Shekou Nanshan District Shenzhen, Guangdong Province P.R. China Office: 86+ 755-2681-3550 Admissions Officers Contact: Elishbeth P. Montgomery Principal [email protected] |
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