Providing a caring home for Chinese students

CHICAGO — Rachel Zhu just returned from shopping. She had bought some decorations for a Halloween party in the cafeteria.

Zhu, a Beijing native, came to the United States when she was a ninth grader. Now a junior at a local high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she goes to school during the day and returns to the Wisconsin International Academy afterward, a place she and some other 150 international students studying at US high schools call "home".

Sun Jianguo has lived in the United States for 26 years. Whenever there were children of relatives or friends in China coming to the US to study, he would take care of them. One day, he decided to extend the care to more Chinese students, giving them one more choice other than boarding schools or host families.

The total-care Wisconsin International Academy came into operation in 2012. As a partner in the founding of the academy, Sun is particular about its details.

In the academy's courtyard, one can find a cafeteria, vendors and a small shop, a gym and laundry rooms. Rented school buses transport the students to seven Milwaukee-area private high schools.

The academy also has dozens of local teachers taking care of the students and helping them with their studies.

Matthew Gibson had been engaged in public education in Wisconsin for 40 years before he became the superintendent of the academy in 2012. He has his thoughts on how to make education successful.

"We need to accept the students, give them a sense of belonging here," Gibson said, adding that the most important thing is to give the students "small success experiences; they get confidence from the small success experience, and then they want more of that and more of that".

"We'll give them a lot of encouragement, a lot of support when they first start out here so that they can gain confidence. And as soon as they gain confidence there, they're off and running just like American students would be."