Domestic and International Partnerships

In 1993 the Abbotsford School District established the International Student Program. This specific program was created to meet the unique needs that international students have when studying in Canada. Since 1993 our program has seen thousands of students choose to study in Abbotsford and currently has an annual enrolment of over 400 students.

School Group Programs & Teacher Training

In 1998 the Abbotsford School District began to explore the possibilities of offshore partnerships. In the fall of 1998 relationships were developed with two offshore Canadian high schools located in China. Over a period of eight years over one thousand students from these Chinese-Canadian high schools chose to study in Abbotsford for a one semester study abroad experience. Students were enrolled in specialized English classes along with regular British Columbia Ministry of Education curriculum. This partnership provided an excellent opportunity for the Abbotsford School District to become a leader in British Columbia in the area of international partnerships.

Since then the Abbotsford School District has established relations with schools in Japan, Korea and China to deliver summer programming, semester study abroad programs and student exchanges. An ESL teacher training program was also been created for the growing need of training ESL expertise for abroad. ESL teachers from both overseas schools and municipal governments have participated in our ESL group training programs. The Abbotsford School District also works with the federal government in Canada to help settle new immigrants to Canada. One aspect of this program is an in-house ESL language program that is delivered locally in the community. Another unique program that has been developed with our regional university, University of the Fraser Valley, is one which allows students to take high school and university credits simultaneously. This program affords students the opportunity to save time and money in receiving first-year university credits while still in high school.

Offshore BC Certified Schools

The Abbotsford School District has developed an excellent relationship with British Columbia’s Ministry of Education. Currently in the province of British Columbia, the Abbotsford School District is one of only nine school districts to create a business company recognized by the Ministry of Education which allows us to offer educational programming overseas. Currently the Abbotsford School District Business Company is actively developing partnerships in Asia and other key regions. In China we are working with a prestigious independent school to build a gifted student program which will allow students to take British Columbia English Language Arts curriculum while still completing a local Chinese government high school diploma. Meanwhile in Korea we are partnering with a high-end private school to create the first offshore Canadian school to be established in South Korea.

We are aware that both public and private schools overseas follow a different curriculum than what we have here in British Columbia. Although we are not familiar with all the specific curriculums used abroad, if an overseas school would be interested in becoming a British Columbia certified school through partnering with the Abbotsford School District, we could study how to best use their curriculum within the general framework provided by British Columbia’s Ministry of Education. As mentioned, due to the fact that there is not a rigid curriculum mandated by our provincial government, we do have the flexibility to use the best parts of an overseas curriculum and its materials if this fits into the BC framework.

If you feel that some of these programs or partnerships, whether they be short-term group exchanges, teacher training or offshore school projects, may be of interest to you and your organization, please feel free to contact us further. The Abbotsford School District and the Abbotsford School District Business Company may be able to assist you with promoting and developing cross-cultural and international education within your country, local schools or government agencies.