news

on september 24, a netizen posted a video saying that the east campus of dezhou no. 1 middle school in shandong province suddenly changed its name to "xincheng middle school" without any notice, which caused concerns among many parents and teachers. the video circulated online showed that some parents gathered in front of the school and asked the school leaders to explain the situation. some parents said that some teachers in the school also expressed concerns about possible changes in personnel relations, salary and benefits, and job title evaluation and appointment.

dezhou no. 1 middle school. image source: dezhou no. 1 middle school wechat official account

on september 25, a reporter from dute news called the dezhou municipal education bureau to inquire about the situation. the relevant staff responded: "it's okay, we have solved it. the rumors on the internet are all rumors. currently, students and teachers are attending classes normally." for more details, the staff member said that the relevant department will issue a notice later.

less than a month after school started,

the school suddenly wants to change its name?

on september 24, several netizens claiming to be parents of students posted that the east campus of dezhou no. 1 middle school was suddenly going to be renamed "xincheng middle school." many parents expressed their concerns due to concerns about changes in teaching staff and related educational resources, and they did not receive advance notice from the school. on the 24th, some parents gathered in front of the school and asked the school to explain the name change.

in the comments section of the video, a netizen claiming to be a student's parent left a message: "my child was also admitted to dezhou no. 1 middle school this year. for convenience, we chose the new campus. as a result, the name was suddenly changed half a month after the start of the school. i was very anxious. the children must have felt very disappointed." another parent said: "we require a clear announcement. we were admitted by the admission notice of no. 1 middle school, and the graduation certificate must also be a no. 1 middle school graduation certificate."

a petition from teachers at the east campus of dezhou no. 1 middle school. image source: internet

the reporter of dute news noticed that some parents released written materials signed by teachers of the east campus of dezhou no. 1 middle school. the materials mentioned that it is required to ensure that the personnel relationship of the teachers who joined before september 18, 2024 is "dezhou no. 1 middle school" and ensure that it will not change before retirement; to ensure that various honorary titles originally belonging to dezhou no. 1 middle school, such as "provincial key middle school", "provincial standardized school", "provincial civilized campus", "provincial characteristic school", etc., are equally enjoyed and publicly displayed; to ensure that the rights and interests of the teachers in the school in terms of salary, performance appraisal, and professional title evaluation and appointment remain unchanged. the petition also mentioned that it requires relevant departments to make a public explanation of the division of the two campuses.

the education bureau responded:

teachers and students are in class as usual

on september 25, a reporter from dute news called the east campus of dezhou no. 1 middle school. regarding the school name change, the staff responded: "i can't give you any answer. everything is subject to the official notice of the government and the education bureau." later, the reporter called the dezhou education bureau and mentioned the parents' demands. the staff replied: "it's okay. we have solved it." the staff also emphasized: "currently, students and teachers are attending classes normally. wait for the notice from the dezhou municipal party committee propaganda department."

the reporter called the dezhou municipal party committee propaganda department to inquire about the situation, and the staff responded: "i will call you back after i understand the situation." as of press time, the reporter has not received a return call, and the local authorities have not issued an official report on the incident.

public information shows that dezhou no. 1 middle school is a public senior high school, and its competent department is the dezhou education and sports bureau. it is a provincial standardized school in shandong province and a provincial civilized unit. the school has two campuses. the old campus is located in decheng district, dezhou city, and the new campus is located in tianqu new district, dezhou city (i.e., east campus). the school that is rumored to be renamed is the new campus. according to the official website of dezhou no. 1 middle school, as of june 2023, there are 8,309 students in the two high school campuses and a total of 752 teachers. the school covers a total area of ​​560 acres and a building area of ​​288,400 square meters.

source | dute news reporter gao lingling and gong junjie