Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Tomback was scheduled to leave Thursday for an overseas trip to learn about Chinese education. He is set to return next Friday.
Tomback is part of the 2011 Chinese Bridge Delegation, a week-long program in China for educators to start or strengthen their institution's Chinese programs and partnerships.
The event is sponsored by The College Board, the non-profit organization that oversees standardized testing programs used in the college admissions process nationwide.
It invites school and district leaders to attend as guests of Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters.
The institutes are part of an initiative to promote Chinese language and culture in foreign countries. The institutes have been established in 96 countries and regions, according to the Hanban website.
An e-mail sent by school system spokeswoman Teri Kranefeld said Tomback's program will be focused on partnership-building, school visits and educational workshops, allowing participants to "gather valuable resources to help them build and expand their Chinese programs."
The delegation will be visiting Chinese kindergarten through 12th grades schools, meeting with Chinese educators, observing classes, establishing meaningful partnerships with Chinese schools, attending presentations on best practices and learning about resources to build and support Chinese language and culture programs.
Tomback is being joined by three school principals in the trip, which is partially funded by the school system, according to information provided in July.
Those principals are Larissa Santos, of Edgewood High School, Marlene Molter, of C. Milton Wright High School, and Wayne Thibeault, of Patterson Mill Middle-High.
The program includes round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, meals and transportation in China, as well as Chinese visa fees, according to the school communications office. It does not include a $900 non-refundable registration fee, which the communications office said the Harford school system would cover.