How a Good School is Forged - The Brand Building Path of Hu Tang Qiao Central Primary School in Changzhou

Author: Xi Yaying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: In 1998, I was transferred from a primary school in the countryside to become the principal of Hutangqiao Central Primary School. Counting this year, it was my fourth year as a principal. I remember one day during the summer vacation, at around 10:30 PM, I suddenly learned that I would be transferred from Wujin Xin'an Primary School to Hutangqiao Central Primary School. I had never thought of leaving Xin'an Primary School and was completely unprepared. In my haste, I quickly called the leaders of Xin'an Town to see if there was any room for negotiation, but I couldn’t get through. My family and I sat up all night. To be honest, I didn’t want to leave Xin'an. First, I was born and raised in Xin'an. The town government and village committee were very supportive of education, and the working environment was excellent. Second, my mother, who had been living with me, was already 79 years old and couldn’t move with me to Hutangqiao. Third, I had undergone two major surgeries, and my husband had just transferred to work together with me to take care of me. At the time, I thought Hutangqiao was well-resourced, and I had neither the qualifications nor the skills to go there. Why would they need me? I was an "old" (a self-made person)! Although I was extremely reluctant in my heart, as a public servant, once the organization made a decision, the only thing an individual could do was to obey. So, before the new school term began, I arrived at Hutangqiao Central Primary School with only a few belongings and started my journey of pursuing my dreams.
I remember the first night I arrived at Hutangqiao Central Primary School, a female leader from the Education Bureau accompanied me and stayed at the teacher training school. The next day, leaders from Xin'an Town, the entire leadership team of Xin'an Primary School, some teachers, and even some parents came to Hutangqiao Central Primary School to help me clean, arrange cooking supplies like oil, salt, and sugar, and set up my "new home." I was truly overwhelmed with emotions. To take care of me and my elementary school-aged son, my mother gave up her original job and came to Hutangqiao Town with me.
Hutangqiao Central Primary School is located in the northwest corner of Hutangqiao Town, a top 100 town in China. When I first took over the new job, I felt immense pressure. The pressure came from two main areas. First, the school. At the time, Hutangqiao Central Primary School was still managing 12 fully accredited primary schools and 1 junior primary school. Among the 206 teachers, only two were district-level backbone teachers, and the teaching backbone was weak. Additionally, 20 teachers were absent from work year-round, and the overall enthusiasm of the teachers was low. Second, the town’s Party committee and government. Before I even had a full understanding of the school’s situation, the leaders clearly required me to conduct a thorough investigation in a short period and present a reform plan for the school. I am very grateful to Pang Rongrui, the principal of Hutangqiao Experimental Primary School, for the professional help he provided me at the time. He told me to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth investigation before taking any action, which was very helpful for my future decisions.
In the six months that followed, in addition to teaching my main course, I spent a lot of time riding a motorized bicycle between the various schools. P2-3