Im Tae-hee, Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education, "Support for Designation of Education Development Special Zones in Population-Declining Cities and Counties"

Im Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education (second from the right), is visiting Sangsu Elementary School in Yangju on the 9th to discuss support for the selection of education development special zones.

Lim Tae-hee, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, visited Sangsu Elementary School in Yangju City, which is promoting a customized model for the Education Development Special Zone, to discuss the direction of local educational development.

The Education Development Special Zone is a policy where local governments, education offices, universities, businesses, and public institutions collaborate to foster regional educational innovation and nurture local talent. It is a project aimed at providing diverse education within public education by linking from early childhood to elementary, middle, high school, and university levels.

The Provincial Office of Education is implementing this project in eight cities and counties in the metropolitan area experiencing population decline or located near border areas, including Gimpo City, Goyang City, Dongducheon City, Yangju City, Paju City, Pocheon City, Yeoncheon County, and Gapyeong County.

The Provincial Office of Education plans to discover customized models for the Education Development Special Zone that fit the characteristics of these eight cities and counties and form a task force to support their implementation.

On the 9th, Superintendent Lim visited Sangsu Elementary School in Yangju City, which overcame the crisis of school closure by operating an educational curriculum that reflects local characteristics, and listened to the opinions of the educational community regarding the direction of local educational development.

At the meeting, Superintendent Lim emphasized, "School change is a process led by faculty and staff, with cooperation from students, parents, and the local community," adding, "Sangsu Elementary School is the best example of a small school and a place with many lessons to learn from."

He continued, "The good initiatives started by the former principal have been maintained and developed, and the current principal has further advanced them, turning the school into a good school where ‘children are gifts to the school, and the school is a gift to the children.’"