The Alexandria Police Department isnt the only city agency drawing attention from interested parties overseas observers from Norway and China have inspected schools in recent weeks, officials said.

Superintendent Morton Sherman told the school board college students from the Scandinavian country and officials from the burgeoning Asian economic powerhouse toured the city last week. 

Planning on careers in education, the Norwegian students lent a hand in the classrooms they visited, Sherman said.

Officials from Chinas Changzhou High-Tech district toured T.C. Williams High School in the hopes of forming a partnership with Alexandria, according to Sherman. The relationship could lead to exchange programs for local teachers and students.