LEE (AP) – A private school in rural Maine has signed a contract to open a satellite that would be the first American high school on the Chinese mainland, its headmaster said.

Lee Academy officials are awaiting a signed contract from a high school in Wuhan that would open the satellite school in September, Headmaster Bruce Lindberg said. Wuhan, a city of 9.1 million people, is about 600 miles south of Beijing.

As many as 1,000 Chinese students would be taught an American curriculum of math, English, science and social studies at the Wuhan Lee Academy. Lee’s program in China would be folded within Wuhan High School Number 4 in much the way that universities often have several schools within them.

Under the agreement, six Wuhan students would start at Lee in September, said Lindberg. Eventually, the school’s Lee staff and current student population of about 275 could increase to 350 students. About 75 Lee students already come from other countries, including 10 from China.

The satellite campus came up as a way to help the 163-year-old Lee Academy survive, said Gail Rae, a director of the school’s board of trustees. Lindberg told the Bangor Daily News his goal is to generate $300,000 to $500,000 annually for Lee Academy.

“It’s not going to happen the first year, obviously, but that’s what I would like to eventually see,” he said.

Having more foreign students at Lee Academy would help maintain the school’s diverse environment while making a significant impact on the economy of the town of 800, which is located about 60 miles northeast of Bangor.

“The rural Maine student population is drying up,” Rae said. “We just don’t have the numbers we had in the past. We went to international students some time ago, but we have emphasized it more over the last five years.”

Lee will start hiring eight to 10 teachers and administrators, including an associate headmaster, to oversee the school in Wuhan if the contract is finalized.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-04-05-08 1327EDT