Migrant Workers' Children Get Boost From Corning
August 2008
Corning is helping the children of Chinese migrant workers by providing access to education and technical job training through the Beijing Dandelion School – the city’s first and only legally registered high school for children of migrant workers.
Eric Musser, Corning China CEO, and Dr. Zheng Hong, principal of the Dandelion School, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to grant US $20,000 (approximately RMB140,000) through the Corning Incorporated Foundation to Dandelion’s School-to-Work project during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years.
Corning’s scholarship program will help 14 qualified students cover the costs of two semesters in the Dandelion School’s “School to Work” program. The program includes intensive vocational training, life skills instruction and apprenticeships to migrant youth between the ages of 14 and 18.
Because the role of teachers is so critical to the success of the School to Work program, the Corning Foundation grant will also provide for a monetary award for five outstanding instructors each year. There are about 48 teachers for the 640 students at the Dandelion School, and average age is 29.
“Corning hopes this financial aid will positively and directly impact the school lives and future employment opportunities of migrant youth,” said Musser at the ceremony.
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