This morning, 17 travel-weary students from Valley High School are due to arrive in Beijing, thrilled to be reuniting with old friends and eager to meet the students they'll be living with during a 10-day stay in China.

The students, plus eight adults from the New Kensington-Arnold School District, are traveling -- some for the second time -- to Jilin City in northern China. The trip is part of a cross-cultural exchange program the district has with Jilin Number One High School, one of that region's largest and most competitive educational systems. While there, Valley students will share ideas and take part in some of the school's classes.

But a field trip that takes 25 people half a world away has goals that are more far-reaching than a typical school outing. If Superintendent George Batterson has his way, the two districts soon will offer each other's students online courses for credit. Dr. Batterson plans to sign an agreement with the Chinese school during his visit.

"It's exciting because no one is doing that, and we think that it will be a real trend-setter," he said.

In addition, Dr. Batterson and Shannon Wagner, superintendent of the Burrell School District, have met with Kevin Snider, chancellor of Penn State University New Kensington, about signing an agreement to offer college credit courses to Chinese students.

"We'll be doing something that will be a phenomenal experience for people in this area," Dr. Snider said, adding that details of how these courses will be presented are still being formulated.

Courses will be developed and written by teachers here, with tuition paid by the Chinese students to the school through which the courses are offered. Dr. Batterson hopes to begin offering the courses, mainly in English, by July 1, 2010.

"They are telling us they want to have their Chinese teachers write courses on Chinese culture and Chinese history ... and we hope to enroll our students in their courses," Dr. Batterson said.

The partnership between the two schools has already fostered relationships between students on opposite ends of the world. The Valley students are staying in pairs with Chinese host families.

Senior David Seymour is making the trip for the first time. Last spring, his family hosted a student from the Chinese contingent that was visiting Valley High School.

"I really just liked the situation of being with someone completely different," David said.

And yet there are similarities with their teenage peers as well. Returning to China for the second time, Katie Bonk, a senior, said the room of her teenage hostess was almost exactly like hers, except the posters were in Chinese.

"It was decorated almost the same as my room, colors were all the same," she said. "I felt like I was at my house, except it was an apartment building."

"They don't have a lot of clothing, but what they do have is trendy," said Eileen Matyas, a foreign language teacher who is on the trip.

"They are minimalists in the right way. For example, in the schools, the classrooms are warm, but the hallways are cold. They only heat what is necessary."

Senior Megan Jordan said she is excited to see the Great Wall. This is her second trip to China, and she said she hopes to take the more challenging route along the wall this time.

Junior Jamie Chalmers is traveling to China for the first time. He is excited to see massive Tiananmen Square.

The students said they were not too concerned about communicating with the Chinese, as most of the students there have been taking English since third grade.

Many of the Valley students are in their second year of Chinese. Their teacher, Zeng Jun, is from China and they've become "enamored" of her, Ms. Matyas said. Ms. Zeng will work here through June 2010 through the University of Pittsburgh's Confucius Institute.

"They have to be good language students before they can take Chinese," Ms. Matyas said. "They're learning a whole new writing system."

Jilin, with a population of 4.5 million, is much different than New Kensington and Arnold. Jilin Number One High School has more than 5,000 students with class size averaging about 60 students with one teacher. The 12-hour school day includes two meals and a nap break. There is tremendous pressure to be perfect, whether in academics or sport or dance, Ms. Matyas said.

"They're competitive with each other, but they also help each other," she said. "You don't necessarily go to high school [after ninth grade] in China. Only the best go there," Dr. Batterson said.

In today's economy, funding programs such as this one is challenging. About half of the $2,000 ticket for each person's trip to China was covered by grant money. The Grable Foundation provided $21,000. Students raised the rest of the funds, selling items such as chocolate and candles.

"If not for the Grable Foundation, I wouldn't be able to take them," said Dr. Batterson, who is paying the $2,000 for his own trip.

For the next 10 days, the Valley students will soak up everything they can about the Chinese educational system and culture. "When you think about standing on the Great Wall ... it takes your breath away," senior Katie Vance said.

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