An American parental watchdog group on education is blowing the whistle on Chinese-government sponsored programs in US K-12 schools..In their report “Little Red Classrooms,” Parents Defending Education (PDE) found 143 'Confucius Classrooms,' including 20 near military bases. Since 2009, the Chinese-government affiliated Confucius Institutes dedicated $17,967,565.12 to its programs in the schools of 34 states and the District of Columbia..A National Association of Scholars (NAS) report found Confucius Institutes and their K-12 Confucius Classrooms are “centres that teach Chinese language and culture.” Confucius programming partners K-12 schools with universities or nonprofits and a Chinese government entity..In March 2023, the NAS reported 13 Confucius Institutes were still in operation and 108 have ended or were winding down..The report from PDE called China “one of the United States’ biggest foreign adversaries,” concluding, “While it’s important to provide students access to Chinese language and culture programs in schools, American schools should not give the Chinese Communist Party unfettered access to our students.”.PDE uncovered contracts at seven schools that revealed Confucius Classrooms, or other Chinese government-backed programing continued:.Cloverport Independent School District, KY Minnetonka Public Schools, MNSt. Cloud Area School District, MNTulsa Public Schools, OKSisters School District, ORHighland Park Independent School District, TXSeattle Public Schools, WA.The partnerships have involved some of the top tech high schools in the US. In March, PDE uncovered that a nonprofit linked to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia had received more than $1 million in financial aid from Chinese government-affiliated entities..Thomas Jefferson High partnered with Tsinghua University High School in China to help its rigorous science, technology, engineering and math programs. Tsinghua University, which runs the high school, is a Chinese military school “supervised” by the Chinese defense industry, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute..On July 11, the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations reported that expanding Confucius Classrooms in the United States has been a top priority for the Chinese government..Former Chinese Communist Party Senior Chairman Li Changchun in 2009 said that Confucius Institutes were “an important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up.”.The State Department designated Confucius Institutes a “foreign mission” of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2020. The report noted part of the institutes’ funding came from United Front Work Department, “the Chinese Communist Party’s overseas propaganda and influence operation.” .Since 2020, the Chinese International Education Foundation, a “nominally independent” organization that is “supervised” by the Ministry of Education, has managed Confucius Institutes abroad, according to the Brookings Institute..The Asia Society operated the Confucius Classroom Network until June 2021. It received funding from the George Soros-funded Open Society, the Carnegie Foundation, Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation..Kentucky had the most Chinese-affiliated school districts with 13, followed by New York (12), North Carolina (11), New Jersey (10) and Texas (9)..PDE found the programs at work in school districts near the following 20 military bases..U.S. Naval Academy and Naval Support Activity (NSA) Annapolis Buckley Air Force Base and Space ForceDavis-Monthan Air Force BaseDover Air Force BaseFort BlissFort Liberty (formerly known as Fort Bragg)Fort KnoxNaval Station Great LakesHanscom Air Force BaseHill Air Force BaseLackland Air Force BaseLangley Air Force BaseLos Angeles Air Force BaseMacDill Air Force BaseMcGuire Air Force BaseU.S. Coast Guard Academy and Naval Submarine Base New LondonNellis Air Force BaseNaval Station NorfolkPuget Sound Naval ShipyardNaval Base San Diego
An American parental watchdog group on education is blowing the whistle on Chinese-government sponsored programs in US K-12 schools..In their report “Little Red Classrooms,” Parents Defending Education (PDE) found 143 'Confucius Classrooms,' including 20 near military bases. Since 2009, the Chinese-government affiliated Confucius Institutes dedicated $17,967,565.12 to its programs in the schools of 34 states and the District of Columbia..A National Association of Scholars (NAS) report found Confucius Institutes and their K-12 Confucius Classrooms are “centres that teach Chinese language and culture.” Confucius programming partners K-12 schools with universities or nonprofits and a Chinese government entity..In March 2023, the NAS reported 13 Confucius Institutes were still in operation and 108 have ended or were winding down..The report from PDE called China “one of the United States’ biggest foreign adversaries,” concluding, “While it’s important to provide students access to Chinese language and culture programs in schools, American schools should not give the Chinese Communist Party unfettered access to our students.”.PDE uncovered contracts at seven schools that revealed Confucius Classrooms, or other Chinese government-backed programing continued:.Cloverport Independent School District, KY Minnetonka Public Schools, MNSt. Cloud Area School District, MNTulsa Public Schools, OKSisters School District, ORHighland Park Independent School District, TXSeattle Public Schools, WA.The partnerships have involved some of the top tech high schools in the US. In March, PDE uncovered that a nonprofit linked to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia had received more than $1 million in financial aid from Chinese government-affiliated entities..Thomas Jefferson High partnered with Tsinghua University High School in China to help its rigorous science, technology, engineering and math programs. Tsinghua University, which runs the high school, is a Chinese military school “supervised” by the Chinese defense industry, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute..On July 11, the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations reported that expanding Confucius Classrooms in the United States has been a top priority for the Chinese government..Former Chinese Communist Party Senior Chairman Li Changchun in 2009 said that Confucius Institutes were “an important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up.”.The State Department designated Confucius Institutes a “foreign mission” of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2020. The report noted part of the institutes’ funding came from United Front Work Department, “the Chinese Communist Party’s overseas propaganda and influence operation.” .Since 2020, the Chinese International Education Foundation, a “nominally independent” organization that is “supervised” by the Ministry of Education, has managed Confucius Institutes abroad, according to the Brookings Institute..The Asia Society operated the Confucius Classroom Network until June 2021. It received funding from the George Soros-funded Open Society, the Carnegie Foundation, Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation..Kentucky had the most Chinese-affiliated school districts with 13, followed by New York (12), North Carolina (11), New Jersey (10) and Texas (9)..PDE found the programs at work in school districts near the following 20 military bases..U.S. Naval Academy and Naval Support Activity (NSA) Annapolis Buckley Air Force Base and Space ForceDavis-Monthan Air Force BaseDover Air Force BaseFort BlissFort Liberty (formerly known as Fort Bragg)Fort KnoxNaval Station Great LakesHanscom Air Force BaseHill Air Force BaseLackland Air Force BaseLangley Air Force BaseLos Angeles Air Force BaseMacDill Air Force BaseMcGuire Air Force BaseU.S. Coast Guard Academy and Naval Submarine Base New LondonNellis Air Force BaseNaval Station NorfolkPuget Sound Naval ShipyardNaval Base San Diego
