Prince George is not the only school district working to bring in students from out-of-country.
While some 70 students from Colombia will be welcomed to School District 57 schools in September, neighbouring Nechako Lakes (School District 91) is trying to tap into a pipeline from China.
The school district's superintendent, Ray LeMoigne, was among seven superintendents from B.C. and more than 100 from across Canada who travelled to China near the start of 2011 to establish ties and seek opportunities.
The highlight was a visit to Xianghe, a county of about 400,000 people 45 km southeast of Beijing that is growing rapidly and expected to reach 1.5 million residents by 2015.
LeMoigne met with developers of a community large enough to accommodate 175,000 people and where a B.C.-style school is part of the plan thanks to inroads already pioneered by the provincial government through its offshore school program.
There are 24 B.C. certified schools in China as it stands where students learn this province's curriculum, all in English and can even earn a Dogwood diploma.
The plan is to have the school built by 2014 and from there it could become the source of some students who would move to B.C. as part of completing their high school.
"As a small school district and small communities, we don't actually have the capacity to enroll 250 students from any country but by working together, maybe there's an opportunity for rural districts throughout the north to participate," LeMoigne said.
About a dozen school districts across northern B.C. are interested, LeMoigne said, and in the interim before the school is built, Nechako Lakes is getting involved in an English as a Second Language program as part of a recruitment effort.
Spread over the participating school districts, LeMoigne cited big number beginning with 250 Grade 10 students in the initial year growing to 1,000 to 1,200 by the third year.
"That's our minimum goal," LeMoigne said.
On Tuesday, Prince George School District announced that 70 international students, ages 10 to 18, will attend a month of classes at local schools starting in September and continuing until January generating about $63,000 in fees for the district in the process.
According to the BC Council for International Education (BCCIE), there are about 900 international students in northern B.C., virtually all of them attending post-secondary schools, who spend $24 million a year on tuition, housing, goods and services.
