In 2010, China’s Hanban Institute, in collaboration with the
University of Maryland’s Confucius Institute (CIM), selected Garrison Forest for the honor of being named a Confucius Institute. On January 31, 2011, Garrison Forest dedicated its Confucius Classroom program with a visit by internationally renowned artist and sculptor Wu Ching-ju and dignitaries from the Chinese Embassy and CIM.
Both a physical classroom and a school-wide curricular and co-curricular program, the GFS Confucius Classroom offers Mandarin instruction and programs promoting Chinese language, history, art, and culture. The School's Confucius Classroom is enhanced further through the vibrancy of Garrison Forest's international, national, and regional boarding community, which includes students from China as well as other countries.
Garrison Forest’s program is distinguished further by its commitment to bringing renowned Chinese artists to campus and to offering in-depth service opportunities in China to Garrison Forest students and teachers and support from the GFS
James Center's Global Service and Learning program.