The Yangjuan Primary School was opened in September, 2000 with four classrooms and 140 students in the kindergarten, first, and second grades. One class was added each year from 2001 to 2004, and the first classes graduated in 2005 and 2006. A new classroom building with four more classrooms was added in 2003. Funding for the school came from a variety of sources in Sichuan, Taiwan, France, Spain, and the US.
The Yangjuan Primary School has as its goals
bringing high-quality elementary education to the children of the villages of Yangjuan, Pianshui, Zhuchang, and Gangou
combining standard curriculum with innovative curriculum that reflects the nature of the Yangjuan/Pianshui area as an ethnic community of the Nuosu people
bringing experts in the arts, sciences, and healing professions to conduct research on the local culture, the natural environment, and the health of the population, and eventually to translate these results into practical solutions for these remote communities
bringing artists and musicians to teach to and learn from local children and adults
evolving into a self-sufficient model that can be adopted by other similar ethnic minority communities in Liangshan and elsewhere.
