A donation from a businessman with connections in the United States and China will allow Lab to learn about Lab Schools founder John Dewey in China.

The $675,000 donation from Jun Zhou, chairman of Zhongtong Logistics Company in China and the Jefferson Education Group, will fund projects facilitating Chinese-American exchanges and exploring the role of Dewey in both countries. Additionally, the donation will enable projects building off the new Chinese exchange, which has students from Ren Da Fu Zhong (RDFZ) high school in Beijing visiting Lab through Feb. 12.

Jun Zhou’s donation will fund a conference at Lab in May 2019 commemorating the centennial of Dewey’s two-year trip to China with his wife, Alice, where he visited provinces and gave dozens of speeches. Next year’s conference will have speeches, panels and activities for students such as community service trips, art projects, and performances.

Part of the donation will also fund students and faculty travel to China during the summers of 2018 and 2019. The rest of the donation has not been allocated. The administration is still working out the details for a possible international study center or other school programs looking at issues in education relating to Dewey’s ideas, director Charlie Abelmann said.

Dr. Abelmann is excited about the opportunity to involve students from the new Chinese exchange school in the projects funded by Mr. Zhou’s donation. He explained that students from RDFZ high school will be invited to attend the May conference. During the 2018 and 2019 summer trips to China, the administration plans for students from RDFZ Lab, and the University of Chicago’s Woodlawn Charter School working together on projects.

Dr. Abelmann wants students to retrace Dewey’s 1919 trip. He said the study tour would travel to Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing, where students would read and discuss speeches Dewey gave in those places.

Before embarking on projects with Lab over the summer, students from RDFZ will first get to know U-High students through the new Chinese exchange program. While in Chicago, exchange students will tour the city, shadow their hosts at school and participate in a Chinese karaoke competition with their host students.

This is the first year that Lab is partnering with Ren Da Fu Zhong, a selective high school in Beijing. RDFZ is affiliated with Ren Min University, one of the University of Chicago’s partner universities.

During spring break, 12 U-High students will fly to China to experience life at RDFZ. Chinese teacher Xiao Li Zhou, who organized the partnership, is excited about the new exchange program after having too little interest last year for an exchange program to take place.