麻大孔子學院承辦中文教師培訓講解讀說故事教法

9月16日至17日，麻州大学波士顿孔子学院举办麻州及周边地区中文教师培训。TPRS（Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling）教学法专家特里·华尔兹（Terry Waltz）博士应邀为近60名中文教师做了为期两天、主题为“通过阅读的可理解优化输入：提高普通话的流利程度和认读能力”的工作坊。

步入培训场地，首先看到的是大屏幕上“You are going to read Hawaiian!”果然，特里·华尔兹博士并没有一开始就跟大家讲TPRS，而是先教大家学夏威夷语。没有任何基础的中文教师们竟然神奇地在两个小时内学会了认读夏威夷文本。原来，培训师已经让大家亲身体验了TPRS教学法在外语教学中的实际运用。

接下来，特里·华尔兹博士为中文教师们讲授了TPRS教学法的基本理念，它所包含的C（Comprehended）、P（Personalized）、R（Repeated）三个要点，所需要的基本技能，以及在教学应用中的主要步骤。听讲的同时，中文教师们结合自己的教学实践，同特里·华尔兹博士进行了充分的互动交流。在工作坊结束前，教师们还进行了实际应用TPRS进行教学的课堂操练。

特里·华尔兹博士从2000年即开始研究并使用TPRS教学法。她是夏威夷大学“星谈”中文项目的领头人，也是纽约州认证的国家级汉语教师。

参加完特里·华尔兹博士的工作坊，很多中文教师纷纷表示，想立刻在自己的课堂中运用TPRS教学法。参加这样的培训一方面使他们直接学习到更有效的教学方法，另一方面也促进了他们对自身教学更深层次的思考和改进。感谢孔子学院组织这样的培训，希望以后能有更多的这样的机会。(麻大波士頓分校孔子學院提供)

第七屆中美健康峰會哈佛場(圖片)

中美健康峰會創辦人劉遠利院長。

劉遠利院長(右)送紀念品給VIP講座講者傅高義教授(左)。(周菊子攝)

陳美霞、黃素芬出任華美福利會正副行政主任

Boston, MA - The board of directors of the Asian American Civic Association is pleased to announce the appointment of an Executive Director and Deputy Director to lead the 50 year old non-profit.   "We are pleased to have two experienced professionals at the helm of AACA," said Yongmei Chen, the President of the Board. "Mary Chin and Lisa Wong bring new energy and ideas to our growing organization. Both will help develop our next 50-year agenda." Mary Chin, a longtime community leader with extensive experience in human services and a strong track record of service in Boston and beyond, will be the Executive Director. Mary served as interim director after the sudden death of Chau-ming Lee, who had served as director since 1982.   Lisa Wong, the former Mayor of the City of Fitchburg from 2008-2016, has been appointed as the Deputy Director, after an extensive search. An experienced public sector and non-profit leader, Lisa will be joining AACA in late September.   "AACA has been a gateway to self-sufficiency for thousands of immigrants and limited English speaking individuals across the Commonwealth," said Mary Chin. "I am proud of our successes and have a strong vision to create even more opportunities for those we serve." "I look forward to joining a fantastic and hardworking team and continuing my advocacy for the community in this new role," said Lisa Wong. "AACA has an exciting chapter ahead and I am happy to be a part of supporting both new and existing partnerships and programs that serve our community." Mary is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in private practice. She has led social service departments and psychiatric programs in Boston and the North Shore. She served as the President of AACA's board of directors and oversaw the organization's growth, including the construction of the building at 87 Tyler Street and the expansion of workforce training, education and social service programs. Lisa is a Senior Fellow at Governing and teaches a course in business at Clark University. She served four terms as Mayor of the City of Fitchburg, and has led a quasi-public agency and a Boston area non-profit.   AACA serves immigrant individuals and families from over 125 countries. Founded in 1967, AACA has evolved into Boston's premier workforce development, adult basic education, and comprehensive social service center to help economically disadvantaged and limited English speaking immigrants achieve enduring economic self-sufficiency.

Asian American Civic Association

The Asian American Civic Association provides limited English speaking and economically disadvantaged people with education, occupational training and social services enabling them to realize lasting economic self-sufficiency. AACA has served and advocated for the needs of immigrants and other economically disadvantaged people since 1967. Today AACA serves clients from over 80 countries. Focused on economic self-sufficiency and participation in American society, AACA provides a range of services, including English classes, social services, job training, college preparation and a post-graduate retention program.

哈佛教授談一帶一路 (圖片)

The new Asia Center Series, Asia Beyond the Headlines, takes a deeper look at urgent contemporary issues that cut across Asia. In the inaugural presentation, leading scholars put China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the context of analogous programs that have changed human history. The land portion of Belt and Road attempts to recreate the glory of the old Silk Road and the reshaping of the Eurasian political economy by one of history’s greatest globalizer, Genghis Khan, who eliminated barriers and, for the first time, created common standards for all ethnicities and nationalities. Harvard Vice Provost of International Affairs Mark Elliott will explore analogies between BRI and the old Silk Road. Similarly, Harvard Fairbank Center Director Michael Szonyi will compare the maritime BRI to the explorations of Chinese Admiral Zheng He in the 1400s. Asia Center Senior Fellow William Overholt will argue , controversially, that BRI is in critical ways an extension of the Bretton Woods system that won the Cold War for the U.S. The session will be chaired by Harvard-Yenching Institute Director Elizabeth Perry, who will call attention to South Asian precedents for BRI.

Governor Baker, Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School Celebrate Advanced Manufacturing Program

Governor Baker, Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School Celebrate Advanced Manufacturing Program

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HAVERHILL – Governor Charlie Baker today visited Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School today to tour the school’s new Advanced Manufacturing program, created in part with a nearly $500,000 Skills Capital grant the school received from the Baker-Polito Administration last year.

More than 1,200 students, teachers, staff and administrators greeted Governor Baker and Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta with a roaring reception in the school gym before the Governor and Secretary headed off to see the new Advanced Manufacturing shop.

Whittier Tech received a $495,000 Skills Capital grant in FY’17 that the school used to transform its former machine and tool program into an Advanced Manufacturing program to better support regional workforce needs. The high school partnered with Northern Essex Community College, and with the Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium for evening adult programs.

Created last year, the Administration awards Skills Capital Grants to educational institutions that demonstrate partnerships with industry, as well as align curriculum and credentials with businesses’ demand, in order to maximize hiring opportunities in each region of the state. The goal of the grants is to update capital equipment at educational institutions that create career pathways for young people and adults, which meet the demand of employers in each region.

The Baker-Polito Administration has awarded more than $26.4 million in Skills Capital Grants to 67 different institutions. The Administration will announce a new round of grants, worth more than $10 million, early next month.  As part of our Economic Development bill, the Administration plans to award a total of $45 million.

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES $13 MILLION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES $13 MILLION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS BOSTON - Thursday, September 14, 2017 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that the City of Boston is releasing $13 million for new affordable housing projects to support the goals set forth in the Administration's housing plan, Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030. The Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) has now issued two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for new affordable housing development and/or the preservation of existing affordable housing units.     "Addressing rising housing costs is critical for preserving the diversity and character that makes Boston a place where all residents can thrive," said Mayor Walsh. "We've seen remarkable growth in our population over the last several years, so we established a comprehensive plan, and committed over $110 million to housing. I'm proud to say we're well on our way to meeting our goals, and we will continue to work hard to lift up every neighborhood across the city by stabilizing the housing market and providing all residents and their families with accessible and affordable options."   The first RFP issued, for approximately $8 million, comes from a variety of sources including the Federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Community Development Block Grant, Housing Boston 2030, and the Inclusionary Development Fund. The RFP specifically earmarks up to $3 million for funding to support housing that will serve households 55 years or older.     The second RFP utilizes funds from the Neighborhood Housing Trust (NHT). NHT disburses funds collected through the City's Linkage policy, which extracts affordable housing funds from developers of large commercial projects.    All rental units that receive City funding will have restrictions on them to preserve their affordability in perpetuity, while all homeownership units created will be subject to an affordable housing agreement that requires them to remain affordable for at least 30 years, with a 20-year extension at the City's option. In addition, developments with more than ten units must set aside a minimum of ten percent of those units for homeless or formerly homeless households. Developments with five or more homeless units must submit a detailed service plan to support this population. The set-aside applies to both new production and preservation proposals. Along with the homeless set-aside, DND strongly encourages developments to have an additional percentage of units for households with incomes at or below 50 percent AMI.   DND has participated in the Commonwealth's working group to reduce development costs, and as a result of this work, the City has adopted streamlined and simplified design standards and  guidelines to assist developers with cost containment.   When a proposal is submitted to DND, the developer must demonstrate that a planning effort with the neighborhood and community has begun and that there is substantive support from neighborhood organizations and stakeholders.   Based on the goals outlined in Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030, the City of Boston has established funding priorities. Proposals are expected to fall under at least one of the priority criteria: Affordable housing developments that utilize City-owned land; Affordable housing developments targeting a mix of incomes: from units for homeless households, to units targeted and restricted to incomes representative of Boston's workforce;  Affordable housing developments that have reduced the cost to build and use public funding most efficiently; Affordable housing developments that serve the disabled community, vulnerable or special needs populations, elders, veterans, artists, and/or aging out youth; Acquisition of unrestricted housing developments in order to stabilize residents' tenancies, and provide long term affordability for a mix of incomes; or Developments that are at risk of losing their affordability within five years. Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030 set out goals to increase the pace of low-income housing production by 50 percent -- from 234 units annually from 2011-2014 to 347 units annually, and to create a total of 6,500 new low-income units by 2030.   To date, a total of 1,286 new low-income, non-elderly units have been completed, housing an estimated 2,250 lower-income residents. The City currently has a pipeline of 1,128 new non-elderly low income units, many of which will be bolstered by the current round of funding.

袁運生畫展 (圖片)

袁佐(右起)邀朱蓉出席袁運生畫展開幕式。(周菊子攝)

右起，王命全，紀虎民，余才望，李政玲(左三)等人和袁運生(左五)，袁佐(左一)相見歡。(周菊子攝)