A delegation of Chinese education officials spent the weekend in Jasper and toured the town’s schools as part of their larger visit to the region to build ties with area school divisions.

Members of the Beibei Education Commission, including school principals and education administrators, visited Jasper Elementary School (JES) and Jasper Junior/Senior High School on Monday morning.

“This is a beautiful school,” said Chen Weili, principal of Chonqing Beibei Chaoyang Elementary School, after finishing his tour of JES. “I like how the school is in a peaceful environment.”

Chen said his own school contains more than 3,000 students spread across two campuses – a far cry from the 230 students at JES, all contained in one building.

Contrasts of scale and environment came up often during the visit, which is not surprising considering that the City of Chongqing, with a population of 29 million, has nearly as many people as all of Canada.

But other differences were noted as well, in particular the fact that Jasper students come from a more diverse range of cultures.

“It’s a multicultural school, compared with my school,” Chen noted. “We can learn from you about a multicultural environment.”

After finishing their visit to the elementary school, the delegation toured the local high school before heading to Edson to meet with Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD) officials at division headquarters.

During their stay in Jasper, the delegates also signed an agreement with three area school divisions – the GYPSD, the Grande Prairie Public School District and the St. Albert Protestant Separate School District – to formalize an educational partnership.

The agreement lays the groundwork for future co-operation between schools in this region and schools in Chongqing, said GYPSD spokesman Jordie Dwyer, including student exchanges. A delegation from the three Alberta school districts also plans to visit the Beibei district of Chongqing in the spring, he added, and a group of principals and teachers is expected to make another visit to China in September 2012.

JES principal Raymond Blanchette-Dubé said he’s not sure yet exactly what kind of linkages will develop between his school and any elementary schools in Chongqing, but he welcomes the opportunity to introduce another international learning experience to young Jasper students.

“In this school that’s something we always talk about: being global citizens. To me this just opens that up to the students right away,” he said. “It gives us a connection to some place that’s totally different from us. Or maybe it’s not. And that’s what we get to find out. I think that’s the neat part.”

One thing Blanchette-Dubé said he was surprised to hear was that students at Chonqing Beibei Chaoyang Elementary School start classes as early as age two and a half.

“I find that young,” he said. “I think five is young enough for kindergarten.”

“I think the system we have in Alberta is really quite good with respect to supports for the younger students,” he added. “If there are special needs, they can get support as young as three years old. But it’s not an educational system, per se.”

For his part, Chen said he hopes educators from both countries can learn from each other as a result of the new agreement.

“I hope that we could work together to have understanding and can develop for the benefit of both,” he said.