During the winter vacation primary school every year, students from Kaiwen will go to excellent American high schools to study. Shady Side Academy (SSA), ranked first in the 2018 Pennsylvania Boarding High School by NICHE.COM, the US authoritative school ranking website, is one of them. SSA students will also come to Kaiwen in the spring semester of the following year. Both sides have established in-depth cooperation in the academic curriculum and extracurricular activities.

Wang Shi, Executive Vice Principal of Kaiwen, and Scott Reid, Dean of the Middle School, welcomed the guests on behalf of the school and discussed the issues related to international education with them.

Ms. Katie Mihm gave a brief introduction to SSA and pointed out that excellent language skills, independent thinking skills, and problem-solving skills are the most important part of SSA's admission to students. Principal Wang Shi also said that SSA and KWA have many similarities, such as advanced campus facilities, beautiful campus environment, systematic STEM curriculum and the philosophy of paying attention to art education, and the students between the two schools have established a relationship of frequent exchange of visits and close contacts.

The content of the forum involves the core connotation of student leadership, how to expand students' international vision and other topics.

 “How to develop student leadership”

Ms. Amy Nixon and Scott Reid respectively introduced the efforts of both schools to help students develop leadership. For example, students are not only participants in activities of clubs, school teams, social services, etc. but also organizers of such activities and managers. The school gives students more space and rights to manage their own affairs, forming and developing leadership in the process of carrying out activities.

In response to the connotation of “leadership”, Principal Wang Shi emphasized: “ 'Leadership' is abstract and difficult to measure with specific figures. It is the key to exercising, developing and improving leadership through practices than just teaching. When investigating whether a student has leadership, the university admission officer also examines the student's perseverance and concentration. Responsibility, discipline, teamwork, etc. are also important factors in leadership.”

KWA features: Middle school students give keynote speeches at weekly gatherings.

 “How to Train Students' International Perspective”

The two schools also shared how to cultivate students' international perspective. SSA offers 5 language courses and offers a wide range of domestic and international exchange programs. Kaiwen has also formed its own education characterizes by integrated Chinese and Western curriculum design, interdisciplinary Field Trip, and overseas research and other activities.

Exchange activities: The students from SSA visited Kaiwen in this spring, and spent a pleasant week with them in classes, study, and exchanges.

The audience presented on the site not only included parents of Kaiwen, but also many parents from other schools and opinion leaders in the international education industry. An off-campus parent expressed his strong support for the "Leadership Connotation" proposed by Principal Wang Shi: "Our students must not only learn to lead but also learn to serve, which is the embodiment of excellent comprehensive quality."