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Bulletin Board Newsletter, Boise School District (Boise, ID)
Posted on September 1, 1999

By   Dan Hollar

Trail Wind Elementary School and Capital High School recently played day host to four visitors from Russia. The two men and two women visited the schools as part of the Library of Congress Russian Leadership Program. The program was created in May of 1999 by Congress as a way to bring public policy decision makers and leaders from Russia to the U.S. for short-term stays.

The four Russians who visited Boise were hosted by Rotary Club of Boise. They were in the City of Trees the week of August 30.

During their visit to Trail Wind Elementary School, Principal Debbie Toy took the four on a tour of the school, including a look at the school's Accelerated Learning Center, a program that serves students quicker and more efficiently by involving a team of instructors who, along with the classroom teacher, meet the instructional needs of students. The Russian visitors also got an up close look at the school's gymnasium, media center, gymnasium, cafeteria and the school's new outdoor classroom that, when finished, will include a garden and stage area.

The visitors from Russia included: Raisa Vasilyevna Karmazina, 48, chairman of the finance, budget and tax commission at the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk region. She is pictured in the adjacent photo speaking in Russian to a Trail Wind student who is a Russian native. The other three visitors from Russia included: Dmitriy Nikolayevich Popov, 23, deputy chairman of the Legislative Assembly at the Legislative Assembly of Krasnoyarskiy kray; Irina Vasilyevna Dolgushina, 38, program director of a Russian broadcast corporation; and Vladimir Vladimirovich Kazachanskiy, 35, chairman of a director's board for a chemical company.

The Russian visitors are from two regions: Novosibirsk Oblast, in the Western Siberia region, an area with a population of more than 15-million people; and Krasnodar Krai, in the Northern Caucasus region, an area with approximately 17-million people.

The Russian visitors explained how their country's educational system works. The Russian educational system is primarily a public school system, but one where elementary and secondary grades are housed in one school building. Enrollment in these schools can be as high as 8 to 9 hundred students. Approximately 5% of students attend private schools. Rural schools tend to offer fewer educational opportunities than do schools in larger Russian cities. An issue of concern mentioned by the Russian visitors included encouraging and maintaining parent involvement in Russian schools.

After touring Trail Wind, the Russian visitors then toured Capital High School, where they completed their visit to the Boise School District by having lunch with Capital students. The district enjoyed hosting our friends from Russia and wish them well in their futures!

[Permission granted by Boise School District.]

[Reprinted with Permission]