To invest more resources in rural education and the sustainability of Hualien and Taitung, the foundation sponsors the Alliance Cultural Foundation and Junyi Experimental High School on a long-term basis. Chairman Stanley Yen of The Alliance Cultural Foundation hopes to provide economically vulnerable schoolchildren with an opportunity to flip through rural education reform and innovative experimental education implementation. Hence, he has established the “Rural Education Seeds Cultivation Program” to sponsor economically vulnerable schoolchildren of Hualien and Taitung. After 10 years of efforts, a total of 185 schoolchildren have been benefited, and 80% of them are indigenous peoples, including Amis, Puyuma, Bunun, Paiwan, Drekay, Tao, and Truku.
Schoolchildren in remote townships with less resources need connection with the world more in order to create more possibilities for their hometowns. Hence, in 2017 the Alliance advocated the overseas study program and established the “Innovation and Overseas Study Education Fund” to provide scholarships for highly potential students of Junyi Experimental High School to apply for overseas study at two-year community colleges or the United World College before high school graduation like taking over others on the lane. Besides providing students with a new start to connect with the world, this program enables students to develop specialties and broaden their international view, so that they can become the power to change their communities and hometowns in the future. Since program establishment, 14 students have studied overseas under the program, 8 students have completed their study and successfully enrolled to their ideal universities or colleges to further their study, and 2 of them even earned the scholarship from US universities.
When the pandemic swept across the rapidly changing world, educators began to rethink the purpose of education, believing that development children’s self-learning ability should the ultimate goal of education, so that they can face future challenges. This coincides with the educational goal of Junyi Experimental High School. To develop core competence in “character, life, and skill” is the core concept of Junyi Experimental High School. Hence, Junyi aims to equip students with good character, skills for life, living competence, international view, and self-learning ability for them to become world citizens. Hence, it plans courses including Life Exploration, Creativity Modules, and International Linkage to guide students to engage in self-exploration, find self-confidence and self-development. The school also arranges “self-learning” courses for students to develop the ability in independent time management for self-learning and fully absorb knowledge in different areas. Additionally, with interdisciplinary courses and through collaboration with external units, the school enrich the learning contents of students to develop lifelong learning in students and realize the concept and value of “inspiring talent, positive innovation, local connection, and bilingual international”.
When learning from home began in May 2021 due to the pandemic, Junyi prepared for each student a learning kit containing books, a drawing album, craft and easy bakery materials, snacks, and a short message from the teacher for students to feel the concerns from teachers during the summer break. The school also planned online common modules. Academic and non-academic staff to demonstrated their expertise to offer different interest-based common modules, such as calligraphy and subject extension learning activities for students to enjoy a richer summer life. After the school reopened, the school found that students valued more about class interaction after a long separation and became significantly less dependent on mobiles.