Garrison Forest’s Confucius Classroom enjoyed a visit from Ruby Niu Costea and Alice Zhang, two of Maryland’s top educators for world languages, on February 22.
Peter O’Neill, Head of School, and B.J. McElderry, Confucius Classroom Coordinator, welcomed Ms. Costea and Ms. Zhang to GFS. During the educators' visit with the Middle School Chinese I class, they conversed in Chinese with students, were treated to a rendition of “Happy Birthday” in Chinese, and enjoyed watching Crystal Tung, GFS Chinese teacher, conduct her class. The women also took a tour of the Confucius Classroom, which is located in the Middle School.
Ruby Niu Costea is the World Language Specialist for the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). She oversees curriculum and teacher support for the entire state of Maryland. A major innovator in utilizing video and online resources, Ms. Costea is the Project Director for the Center for Human Services/McDaniel College STARTALK Summer Institute. Ms. Costea’s connection to GFS’s Confucius Classroom is a personal one: She "discovered" Ms.Tung and referred her to Alice Zhang who in turn contacted Ms. McElderry.
An expert in the teaching of Chinese, Alice Zhang (Ying Zhang) co-directs the Center for Chinese Language Teacher Certification and Development at the University of Maryland. She founded the Chinese Immersion Program at Baltimore International Academy serves as an AP Chinese exam reader. She advocates for national and international standards of excellence in Chinese-language teacher preparation, certification, and development.
