ST. PETERSBURG - Captain Robert J. Fine, Jr., Headmaster at Admiral Farragut Academy, will travel to China in mid-June to recruit and hire teachers of Mandarin Chinese language and culture. Captain Fine was one of only nine independent school leaders in the country selected for the trip. The teachers interviewed by Captain Fine will be employed by independent schools throughout the United States during the 2006-07 school year.
The trip to China to recruit Mandarin teachers is offered by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and HANBAN, an organization sponsored by the Chinese government with the goal of promoting Chinese language instruction internationally.
The NAIS delegation will depart from the U.S. on June 15, returning on June 25. Delegates will visit schools and education authorities in various provinces, learning about the Chinese education system and culture. They will interview teacher candidates with the aim of hiring teachers for their own schools, as well as for other independent schools in the U.S. The teachers selected by the delegation will have an NAIS-led operation in Beijing before traveling to the U.S. to begin teaching at the start of the 2006-07 school year.
Admiral Farragut Academy, the nation's first and foremost naval honor school, promotes academic excellence, leadership skills, and social development within a diverse community of young men and women. The co-ed independent school provides a wide array of educational opportunities for over 450 students in grades Pre-K through12, with 100 percent of graduating seniors earning college acceptance.
The National Association of Independent Schools is a membership organization for 1,300 independent schools in the U.S. and internationally. An independent school is a type of private school that is governed by a board of trustees. All NAIS members are non-profit, 501©(3) organizations that are non-discriminatory.
The campus for Admiral Farragut Academy is located on Boca Ciega Bay in St. Petersburg.