If you had the opportunity to teach at a school in China, would you take it? What if you could teach in English and had the opportunity to teach any subject? What if teaching in China was a wide-open mission field?

In the fall of 2014, you could be teaching at an international private school, the American Academy for Educational Excellence, in Shanghai, China. While BJU is heavily involved in the organization and setup of the school, the AAEE will be independent of the University. But it will use materials primarily from the BJU Press. While Dr. Stephen Jones was in China in the fall of 2010, Shanghai officials asked him to help start an international K-12 school. Dr. Jones decided to explore the project and gave it to Dr. Bob Jones III, the chancellor of the University.

Dr. Jones III appointed several people to help him prepare for the new school, two of whom were Dr. Phil Smith, retired provost, and Dr. Mary Lamb, a faculty member of the Division of Nursing and Health Science. Lamb has much experience in China. She works extensively with the nursing school in Shanghai.

The school will be located on 64 acres of land in the town of Anting in the automobile district of Shanghai. The school will be equipped with new technology for classrooms and laptops for each of the students.

“We would like to have a center for the fine arts and sports as well,” Smith said. Although building plans have not been finalized yet, they are definitely in progress.

The AAEE will be a kindergarten through 12th grade school that accepts both international and national students — a very uncommon thing in China.

In the past, Chinese students have not been allowed to attend private schools. They are expected to attend the public school until the eighth grade. They are then tested and told whether they can continue their education in high school.

If students are not accepted into the Chinese public high school system, their parents look for alternatives for their education. Some go to trade schools, some are sent out of the country and some cannot re-enter Chinese public education. The AAEE will be an alternative school for these students, whether they passed the test or not.

For the first year, the AAEE will accept only students from 7th to 10th grade. “These specific grades will give Chinese families the opportunity to start their child in a private school early or direct them to private school after they have taken their high school entrance exams,” Lamb said.

The school administration is looking for teachers to teach all subjects ranging from math to history and from fine arts to English. Representatives of the AAEE will be present at the Christian School Recruitment Conference on Feb. 18 and 19.

Applicants will need to have one of the following by fall of 2014: a teaching certificate, a master’s degree in education or a bachelor’s degree with one year of teaching experience.