Exclusive Chadwick Plans to Open Songdo School in August
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
INCHEON ― Korea's first-ever foreign school in a free economy zone (FEZ) will open in August.
Richard C. Warmington, president of the Chadwick International School Songdo, said Tuesday the school will open in August and will begin recruiting students from April at the earliest.
In an exclusive interview with The Korea Times, the head of the school said it might take two to three weeks more for the school to gain a license and he will start to recruit students once winning approval.
Earlier, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Chadwick School had failed to submit documents, which were agreed upon by Gale International, the New Songdo International City developer, and a consortium of investment banks, for release of the school's land and buildings, by the designated date, March 15.
However, Warmington said there was no "deadline" for submitting the documents.
After being licensed, the international school will recruit some 280 students for 16 classes from kindergarten through grade 7.
According to the president, prospective pupils need to pass exams and an in-depth interview, which will also involve the parents of the applicants.
The school operator has already selected 19 teachers and will recruit 13 to 15 more from overseas so that the student to teacher ratio will be 8:1.
Incheon Metropolitan City government has invested 150 billion won in 7,000 square meters of land for the international school.
The school can accommodate up to 2,100 students and a dormitory is to be built for high school students from other cities and provinces.
Based in Los Angeles, Chadwick sent 11 percent of its graduates to Ivy league schools last year and was ranked among the top 20 schools with an average Scholastic Aptitude Test score of 2,041.
Initially, Gale International planned to open the school in September 2008, but there have been delays due to problems involving school operators.
Unlike foreign schools, international schools in FEZs can enroll Korean nationals who have not lived overseas.
Under the current education regulations, foreign schools are allowed to admit Korean students who have lived overseas for more than three years, as long as their enrollment does not exceed 50 percent of the total, while those in the FEZ can admit Korean students numbering up to 30 percent of the total admission quota.
[단독] 송도국제학교 8월 개교
첫 외국인 교육기관인 송도국제학교가 오는 8월 문을 연다. 이 학교 리차드 워밍튼 교장은 23일 코리아타임스와의 단독 인터뷰에서 송도국제학교가 올 8월 개교를 앞두고 4월부터 학생 선발절차에 들어갈 것이라고 말했다.
워밍튼 교장은 “송도국제학교가 인가를 받는 데는 앞으로 2-3 주정도 소요될 것” 이라며 “4월 인가 후에는 바로 학생 선발에 들어갈 것” 이라고 말했다.
앞서 교과부는 채드윅이 학교 부지와 건물에 대한 송도국제도시개발유한회사(NSIC)와 대주단간의 임대차 및 확정계약서를 지정된 기한이었던 3월15일 까지 보내지 않아 심사를 중단했다고 말했지만, 워밍튼 교장은 “애초에 교과부가 서류 제출 기한을 정해 준 적이 없다”고 밝혔다.
그는 첫해인 올해는 K-12 과정 중 7학년까지 16학급에 280여명을 뽑을 계획이라며, 영어시험과 부모가 함께 참여하는 심층면접을 통해 학생을 선발할 것이라고 전했다.
송도국제학교는 이미 19명의 교사를 확보해 놓았고, 교사와 학생의 비율을 1:8 정도로 맞추기 위해 현재 13-15명의 교사를 해외에서 물색하고 있는 중이다.
이 학교는 인천시가 2,100평 부지에 1,500억을 투자해 만든 경제자유구역내 첫 외국인 교육기관으로, 2,100명의 학생을 수용할 수 있다.
2008년 9월 개교 예정이었지만 학교 운영자 선정과정에서 생긴 문제로 여러 차례 연기되었다.
지역에 상관없이 내국인 학생도 지원이 가능하며, 고등학생들을 위해 180여명을 수용할 수 있는 기숙사도 세울 예정이다.
인천 = 강신후 기자