A public school in Maine is actively recruiting students from China. Stearns High School is located in Minninocket, Maine, a remote town some 200 miles north of Boston and an hour’s drive from any shopping malls or movie theaters. Minninocket receives an average of 93 inches (236 cm.) of snow a year. Chinese students will be paying $27,000 per year for tuition, room and board and for American public schools seeking new sources of revenue, Stearns High’s move is unprecedented.

But one great concern Stearns High has is that, according to U.S. State Department rules, international students are only allowed to study at a public high school for a year, yet they can attend private schools and colleges for a full four years. Dr. Kenneth Smith, local schools superintendent, believes this is unfair and is fighting to change the law. Dr. Smith is now traveling to Beijing, Shanghai and other cities on a promotional tour and he feels Chinese teenagers will want to study at Stearns High because,

They want to learn English, and they want a college education,” he said. “If we can get them into a college here, they will have achieved their major goal.

In addition, “We’re a community full of assets,” Dr. Smith said, pointing to Mount Katahdin, Maine’s highest peak, which looms just beyond the town, and the abundant hunting, fishing and snow sport opportunities that the locals love. “There’s the beauty, No. 1, and the fresh air. And the roads are good.”

Locally-born English teacher Terry Givens also lends her support to the plan:

I don’t want to sound flip, but why not? We won’t know until we get the opportunity to know them and give them the opportunity to know us. There’s something to be said for putting ourselves out there to see if we can be the prize that’s claimed.