Our classrooms have reached a point where they must be reformed!" Recently, at the "Connotative Development, Character Innovation" Principal Forum held by the Shengli Education Management Center in Dongying City, Shandong Province, Zhang Junlian, principal of Shengli No. 58 Middle School in Dongying, introduced: "A survey conducted by our school last year showed that among the options students considered as their 'source of happiness,' the classroom ranked only seventh. This urgent situation forces us to accelerate the pace of new curriculum reform." Zhang Junlian's words immediately resonated with the attending principals and sparked heated discussions.
Focusing on the "connotative development and character innovation" of schools is an important measure to actively promote quality education after the Shengli Oilfield Education was transferred en bloc to the management of Dongying City. Currently, the "happy education," "life education," "self-learning type classroom," "lesson plan teaching," "youth success plan" and other initiatives under Shengli Education have initially formed brands. Most schools have developed educational philosophies centered around connotative development and character innovation, with continuously improving educational standards.
The predecessor of the Shengli Education Management Center was the Education and Training Department of the Shengli Petroleum Administration Bureau. In 2004, according to the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Relevant Issues Regarding the Pilot Work for Separating Social Functions from Central Enterprises, the Shengli Petroleum Administration transferred the Shengli Oilfield Education to the management of Dongying City all at once. After several years of adjustment in the layout and structure of schools, the center currently has 48 schools and more than 60,000 students, distributed across five cities in Shandong Province: Dongying, Binzhou, Dezhou, Zibo, and Yantai.
Jin Jiamin, director and party secretary of the Shengli Education Management Center, told reporters that since 2010, the center has implemented the "Five High-Quality Projects," including balanced educational development, deepening quality education, enhancing team quality, refining school management, and constructing safe campuses. The center is promoting "group-based, alliance-style" schooling to strive for elevating the overall level and quality of Shengli Education and building a renowned brand for Shengli Education.
Each school has also taken active measures. Under the guidance of new educational concepts, Shengli No. 58 Middle School has promoted problem-guided learning classroom reforms, constructed a diversified and multi-themed educational evaluation system, and cultivated students' self-directed, cooperative, and investigative spirit. Shengli No. 2 Primary School has deeply researched urban elementary student life education based on the actual living and learning conditions of modern city primary school students, creating a life education feature. Shengli No. 17 Middle School, located far from the heart of Shengli in Linyan Town, Liné‚‘ County, Dezhou City, has transformed its geographical disadvantages into advantages, promoting professional development of the teaching staff, establishing the Shengli Education brand in its area, and preliminarily forming a significant "extensive reading" educational characteristic advantage. Additionally, the humility education of Shengli No. 11 Middle School, the happy education of Shengli No. 4 Primary School, the comprehensive psychological education of Shengli No. 3 Middle School, and the autonomous education of Shengli No. 4 Middle School have all developed distinct features.
Shengli Education has also formulated and implemented the "Star Rating Achievement Standards for School Management," effectively promoting the improvement and optimization of management systems and the connotative development of schools. Currently, 20 schools under Shengli Education have been recognized as provincial standardized schools, accounting for nearly half of the total number of schools. The proportion of municipal-level or higher standardized schools has even reached 87%.