Kamloops, BC—Maple Leaf Education North America (MLENA), the Canadian subsidiary of China Maple Leaf Educational Systems (CMLES), announced plans to open its first Canadian high school in September 2016 in cooperation with TRU, Kamloops.

In a Memorandum of Understanding, signed today, MLENA and TRU confirmed plans allowing the school to start in a designated area on campus with the intent to move to a purpose-built school facility via the university trust in the near future.

“This is a landmark day for TRU as we continue to develop innovative approaches to internationalization,” said TRU President and Vice-Chancellor Alan Shaver. “We have a long-standing relationship with our partners and this is another opportunity for us to create more learning options for students and collaborative research projects for our faculties.”

The first students in the new school will be selected from existing Maple Leaf schools in China, which as part of the BC Global Education Program Offshore Schools, have been delivering the BC curriculum in China for over 20 years. CMLES currently operates eight BC certified high schools throughout China, enrolling more than 7,500 BC registered students. The students selected to come to Maple Leaf School-TRU will come to Kamloops to continue their BC high school program in Kamloops.

“We are very excited to be taking this first step together with our long-term partners at TRU,” said Dawn Sutherland, President, MLENA, “TRU’s university village concept is a strong attraction to our students and their parents.”

In addition to the BC curriculum, MLES students in China take courses from the Chinese high school curriculum and graduate with two diplomas, one from BC and one from the Chinese provincial education authority. Maple Leaf Schools in Canada will continue this tradition, offering the required Chinese courses within the program offered in Canada.

Associate Vice President, International and Chief Executive Officer, TRU World Global Operations Baihua Chadwick said, “This innovative, one-of-a-kind cooperation project will not only benefit TRU’s students and faculty, it will benefit the Kamloops community as a whole. This bilingual and bi-curriculum school can potentially attract professionals and families from other parts of Canada if they wish for their children to receive a dual credential accredited by both the Chinese Ministry of Education and the BC Ministry of Education.”

Media inquiries

Baihua Chadwick
Thompson Rivers University
Associate Vice-President, International and Chief Executive Officer, TRU World Global Operations
250-371-5525
bchadwick@tru.ca

Dawn Sutherland
Maple Leaf Education North America
President
604-428-8511
dawn.sutherland@mapleleafschools.com

Backgrounder

About MLUS at TRU

• TRU has been selected as the first location for Maple Leaf Schools in Canada.
• MLUS-TRU students are selected on strict academic, English and behavioral criteria.
• Grade 11 and 12 students are currently registered as BC offshore students and have been studying BC curriculum at MLES schools in China.
• Students will be in school uniform on campus and in designated MLUS-TRU space.
• Grade 12 students with advanced standings may register in TRU academic courses in lieu of AP courses.
• MLUS-TRU encourages link between school and TRU Faculty of Education with ‘living lab’ model for research, observation and practice teaching.
• MLUS-TRU principal and teachers are all BC certified Canadian teachers each with many years experience teaching at MLES schools in China and welcome opportunities to interact with TRU Faculty of Education students and faculty.
• MLUS encourages development of TRU student practicum and classroom observation.
• When MLUS facility is built on campus shared space for Faculty of Education seminar and observation can be included.
• MLENA is hoping to develop TRU new teacher recruitment links through MLUS relationship.

Maple Leaf Quick Facts

• MLES opened its first school in Dalian, PR China in 1995
• China’s largest private international school system
• Canada’ first and largest offshore school system
• Inspected and certified by the Ministry of Education, Province of British Columbia since 1998 – inspection reports available online at BC Ministry of Education website
• Schools now located in 11 cities in China including Dalian (1995), Wuhan (2007), Tianjin-TEDA (2008), Chongqing (2009), Zhenjiang (2011), Inner Mongolia-Ordos (2012), Henan-Luoyang (2012), Shanghai (2013), Tianjin-Hua Yuan (2014), Pingdingshan (2014), Yiwu (2015), and Jingzhou (2015)
• Over 18,000 students enrolled from preschool to grade 12
• Over 7,500 students registered as BC offshore students
• 46 schools in China including preschools (13), elementary schools (11), middle schools (12) foreign nationals schools (2) and high schools (8)
• Over 1,300 graduates in 2015
• Over 65% of all graduates choose Canadian post secondary institutions for their further studies