Established in 1996 with funding from the Freeman Foundation, the U.S.-China Teachers Exchange Program sends American K-12 teachers to China and brings Chinese secondary school teachers to the United States.

Since the program began, approximately 250 Chinese teachers have taught in American elementary, middle, and high schools and over 100 American teachers have taught in Chinese secondary schools.

The Chinese teachers typically spend a school year teaching Chinese language and culture, or English as a second language, in American schools across the country. Since its inception, the program has placed Chinese teachers in schools located in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The American teachers teach oral English in secondary schools in Chinese cities including Anqing, Beijing, Changzhou, Chengdu, Dalian, Hefei, Hohhot, Jiangdu, Luoyang, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Yangzhou.

The exchange program provides the teachers a unique opportunity to improve their own language and teaching skills; deepen their understanding of another culture; and share new curriculum, pedagogy, and experiences in their home classrooms upon their return.

In addition to the teacher exchanges themselves, conferences and workshops for current participants and program “alumni” in both countries are organized to help them form networks and enable them to share curriculum and other information for their own classrooms and with their colleagues at their home schools and districts. Week-long pre-departure orientations help prepare teachers for their coming year abroad.