JACKSON, Tenn. — June 1, 2016 — Michael Shackleford, associate professor of educational leadership at Union’s Hendersonville campus, has taken his educational experience overseas.
For the past four years, Shackleford has served as an adviser for a private school in China. He visits China a couple of times each year to give advice and training to the staff.
“I’m there supporting teachers, supporting the owners, supporting the principal and working through what it looks like building a school, getting it going, putting policies and structures in place, getting budgets and all those type of things together,” Shackleford said.
He said he first began feeling called to China in 2010, when he met a friend who works there. In 2012, the friend called to ask him to help establish the school. Shackleford said the school initially had eight students, and three were the children of the owners. He said they were unsure of how to start the school, but they had a passion for it.
“It’s a big deal to pull out of the Chinese system there because if you pull out of the Chinese education system you’re done,” Shackleford said. “I first went over there on a fact-finding mission.”
He said he needed to establish what the owners knew and train them in what they did not know. He said over the last four years, the school has grown to 165 students. Half the staff is Chinese, and half is American.
“We do a lot of things on how to design lessons, how to assess in a variety of ways rather than just a traditional test,” Shackleford said. “There are a lot of different ways that kids learn and can also show what they know.”
Shackleford said the school recently hired a new principal and he has been helping him get started so that he can run the school well.
“I’ve been helping him get his legs under himself and working with him and the owners of school helping them get the big picture,” he said. “I’m learning how to pull away and let the educators do their thing.”
The school recently expanded to another town, saving a like-minded school that was going under. Shackleford said he will continue to provide professional development for the school, and he hopes it continues to expand.
“I love the school, and they are all good friends of mine,” Shackleford said. “I’m glad to see them continue to grow on their own.”