MILLINOCKET, Maine...Seeks China's High Schoolers...GFB

Dr. Ken Smith the Superintendent of Schools for Millinocket, Maine is faced with situation. The enrollment at Stearns High School had shrunk from 700 to 200 students over the last 10 years. The town is in Maine (average temperature is 41 degrees Farenheit and average snowfall is 3.5 feet) and needed a program to save the school. What could Dr. Smith do to save the the school? The School had economic problems. The town of Millinocket is failing.

Millinocket's population has fallen 30 percent in the past 20 years. Two paper mills that used to be the lifeblood of the regional economy, employing more than 4,000 workers at their peak in the 1980s, are skeletons of their past selves - one is idle and the other employs about 450 workers. Stearns High School needs to improve its academics also:

Note the Crowded Halls at Stearns Craig Dilger for NYT

As for education, Smith acknowledges the school's poor test scores. The percentage of juniors at Stearns meeting state standards for writing, reading, science and math stood between 36 and 41 percent in the latest round of testing.

Although the town is dying, it is a lovely place. It has clean Maine air, clean running tap water, low crime, good roads, natural beauty, and Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. It appears to be a nice place to visit or retire but not to start life. But Dr. Smith has a plan see the picture of Dr. Smith on the Great Wall for a hint.

Dr Smith at Great Wall  (Du Bin for NYT)

Yes Dr Smith did not turn to our Black urban areas and say "send me your tire and poor and huddle masses yearning for education" nor did he turn to poor illegal Hispanics. No Dr Smith turned to China's middle class or better students who can pay $13,000 for Stearns High School Tuition, plus $14,000 for room and board. He went on a tour of Beijing, Shanghai and Fuzhou with the objective of bringing in 60 paying students. (some sources cite 100).

Now there are some problems, but Dr. Smith is a problem solver. Problem: The Chinese Students can only stay in an US public school for a year. It appears that this is a federal law. Dr. Smith has received clearance from Home Land Security to allow the students to attend Stearns for one year.

Smith also secured an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow Chinese students to attend Stearns for a year. He also has an agreement with Lee Academy under which Lee would accept those students after their year in Millinocket. Lee also would accept Millinocket students into its Advanced Placement classes

Now if the students can only stay a year what is Dr. Smith next move? According to the NYT:

Under State Department rules, foreign students can attend public high school in the United States for only a year, a system that Dr. Smith considers unfair, given that they can attend private high schools for four years. He is pressing Maine’s Congressional delegation to seek a change,

Are there other options rather than bring in a foreign student body? Yes Stearns Millinocket could consolidate with other districts: It appears that this is not workable:

Previous efforts to consolidate with East Millinocket, Medway and other towns that stretch back several years have failed to date. East Millinocket, Medway and Woodville officials have made clear that while they would like to continue programs that mix their students with Millinocket’s, consolidating their administrative or political leadership with Millinocket’s is not desirable.Other towns have expressed no interest in consolidation with Millinocket or found the logistics too daunting

There are a few more threads here to tie together. First, Dr. Smith is truly shooting for 200 Chinese Students, doubling the enrolment in Stearns. This would make Stearns the only high school in the US that is half paying foreign students. He has got to find places, homes or dorms, for them to stay at a cost say of an additional $13000. As School Board Chairman Hopkins has affirmed, “This could be an unmitigated disaster if we don’t do it right,”. However this $13,000 per student will be a boon to Millinocket. Second, how does Lee Academy fit in this deal. Well as best as Sharky&Sharky can figure out Lee is going to offer the bulk of the AP courses. They currently offer AP in English, History, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Advanced Economics, Art etc. Further they have sister schools in China. Note the diverse championship basketball team at Lee, (a) The compulsory tall Black youngster (b) the three Chinese appearing youngster (one is rather tall). In addition Lee Academy is Dr. Smith's back-up for the students at Stearns completing their studies after one year.

Third, Why does Dr Smith want Chinese students now? Because as a great problem solver he can read the tea leaves.  The current partly operating paper mill wants a significant tax reduction and a tax loss writeoff. Read here if you want to see the realities faced in our country by our town officials as we become a third rate economic power. Dr. Smith can easily predict that if he does not save the school with paying students, Stearns will face serious personnel cuts. Sharky&Sharky question his misapplied entrepreneurial elan. The evidence as to what to do is apparently all around Dr. Smith. Lee Academy brings in Chinese Students, Not far away in Maine other public schools are leading by example:

Chinese students are attending Orono High School, paying $13,000 each in tuition and $8,000 for room and board while staying with local families. Three Chinese students this year have attended Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport, paying $15,000 in tuition and $5,000 for room and board to stay with local families.

Finally why do China's young finest want to come to the US high schools. They and their parents believe that a good American high education is the key step to getting into top American universities.

Received 5 acceptances....(Bukaty/AP)

Chinese Student answers satistics question in Orono High School. This young man credits his one year in Orono with his acceptance into 5 top universities.

Is this new? Well no an yes. It has been a practice among the well-off Chinese to send a parent, usually the woman, with the children, to the US. This parent would ride the social welfare gravy train all the time receiving like many welfare mothers substantial income from the father from the mainland of HongKong. If the stateside parent did not receive welfare, her ostensible income was/is kept low enough to apply for an unwarranted income-based scholarship for her children and thus depriving poorer Americans of the available income-based scholarship funds. Well, times have changed. The new Chinese do not need our US income-based scholarship dollars. Getting into the US colleges is a business. And there are Chinese American businesses to do the trade. These are called recruitment agencies. It is estimated that there are about 100,000 Chinese college students from the mainland in the US and over 50% are undergraduates. In addition, the universities are actively recruiting directly:

Stanley Nel, University of San Francisco's vice president of internal relations and a recruiter, even travels to China four to 10 times a year, staying from a few days to several weeks. Public universities like UC Berkeley and San Francisco State and community colleges like Foothill and De Anza have also launched recruitment efforts, joining the 2010 five-city China Education Expo. Because of their academic preparation, global perspective and willingness to pay full tuition at cash-strapped campuses, Chinese students bring added value to the campus, admissions officers say

The last line says it all. However we are training those that will dominate us. We are developing the economic ecostructure of those who will be the world leaders as the US becomes world losers. Why are they superior and will continue to be superior: PARENTING. The Chinese child knows that his or her job is to learn. But the key role of a adult in a competitive society is be a demanding parent. Dr. Smith is right if he can get 50% of Stearns filled with high paying achieving Chinese students, he does not have to worry about educating the dumb Americans. He knows that he cannot teach them anyway; they have parents that are not demanding. The learning light is no longer burning white in Millinocket it is yellow.

Dr Smith direction is an implementation of New Public Management. His focus is on providing a service, grounded on rational choice. Stearns high school is now a set of entrepreneurial transactions with a focus on an additional set of measureable outcomes, not grades solely but revenue, and not the old bureaucratic measures which focuses on inputs. He has taken a public good, Stearns high school, and commoditized it. For example, he has outsourced the AP courses. Sharky&Sharky wonder if he will outsource basketball victories to Lee Academy. He is making a rational use of market transaction. He has the stepping stones to college, Stearns High School, the Chinese want to buy some steps. Unfortunately he is destroying Millinocket as an American community. The young adults, American and Chinese will hold no allegiance to Millinocket as a community. Thus the decline of Millinocket as a community will continue.

©Sharky&Sharky