CONGRATULATIONS to FHPS teacher at Northern Trails 5/6 School, Yuqi Zhao, named one of five outstanding finalists in the U.S. Heartland China Association’s Chinese Teacher Award. Yuqi and the other finalists were honored during a special virtual awards ceremony this past weekend. The award honors extraordinary and dedicated Chinese language teachers in our region. According to Yuqi’s biography released by the association, “Yuqi Zhao has been a Chinese immersion teacher at Northern Trails 5/6 School since 2013, inspiring young learners in a 5th-grade classroom in West Michigan. She earned a Master of Arts in Teaching and Curriculum from Michigan State University and holds a Michigan Professional Teaching Certificate for K-12 Foreign Language (Chinese) and Elementary K-5 All Subjects. Passionate about language immersion, she developed the 5th-grade Chinese immersion curriculum and employs total immersion strategies to enhance students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. To further enrich Chinese language learning and cultural appreciation, she has led the school’s annual Chinese New Year celebration and facilitated biannual cultural exchange trips to China for students and their families.”
According to USHCA, they launched the Heartland Chinese Teacher Award, “to recognize excellence in Chinese language teaching in our region, and the many educators who have built cultural bridges through language learning. These teachers, often working with limited resources, are critical to developing the next generation of global leaders. While this award is foremost about celebrating the significant contributions of Chinese language teachers, it is also meant to raise awareness for the broader significance of world language education in the context of the U.S.-China relations.” To learn more about the award and the association, visit their website, https://usheartlandchina.org/heartland-chinese-teacher-award/.
