Our future, and the future of our children, is inextricably linked to the complex challenges of the global community.

Rod Paige
U.S. Secretary of Education


To solve most of the major problems facing our country today�from wiping out terrorism to minimizing global environmental problems to eliminating the scourge of AIDS�will require every young person to learn more about other regions, cultures, and languages. I applaud the Goldman Sachs Foundation and Asia Society�s efforts to promote international learning and congratulate this year�s prizewinners.

Colin Powell
U.S. Secretary of State

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRIZES JURY
Henry Cornell
Managing Director
Goldman, Sachs and Co., and
Asia Society Trustee

Ralph Begleiter
Former CNN World Affairs Correspondent

Ambassador Stephen W. Bosworth
Dean
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Gaston Caperton
Governor of West Virginia (1989-1997), and
President
The College Board

Congressman Michael N. Castle
U.S. Representative, Delaware

Milton Chen
Executive Director
The George Lucas Educational Foundation

John M. Engler
Governor of Michigan (1991-2003)

Charlotte K. Frank
Senior Vice President
Research and Development
The McGraw-Hill Companies

Antonia Hernandez
President and General Counsel
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund

James B. Hunt, Jr.
Governor of North Carolina (1977-1985, 1993-2001)

Helene L. Kaplan
Senior Counsel
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Charles E. M. Kolb
President
Committee on Economic Development

Kurt Landgraf
President
Educational Testing Service

William J. Perry

Former US Secretary of Defense, and
Senior Fellow
Hoover Institution

Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering
Senior Vice President, International Relations
The Boeing Company

Admiral Joseph Prueher
Former Commander in Chief
US Pacific Command

Richard Riley
Former US Secretary of Education

Morley Safer

Correspondent
CBS News

Mark Warner
Governor of Virginia

Ambassador Frank G. Wisner
Vice Chairman, External Affairs
American International Group, Inc.

2003 Prizes for Excellence in International Education

Closing the K-12 International Knowledge Gap: Putting the World Into World Class Education

Responding to recent reports documenting that US students are woefully uninformed about the rest of the world, The Goldman Sachs Foundation and Asia Society salute the inaugural winners of The Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education.

The winners, who received $25,000 in each category, are:

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE SCHOOL PRIZE
The John Stanford International School, Seattle, WA

HIGH SCHOOL PRIZE
Evanston Township High School, Evanston, IL

HIGHER EDUCATION PRIZE
University of Vermont, Asian Studies Outreach Program

STATE PRIZE
North Carolina

MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY PRIZE (CO-RECIPIENTS)
International Education and Resource Network (iEARN), New York, NY
Sesame Workshop�s Global Grover, New York, NY

The Prizes were established to identify effective and replicable models of international education that address concerns about the economic, social, and diplomatic costs of educational isolationism.

Commenting on the importance of the prizes, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said, �The compelling changes in our economy, the dawning of the Information Age, and the horrible events of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath, have created an unprecedented need to focus on international knowledge and skills. To solve most of the major problems facing our country today�from wiping out terrorism to minimizing global environmental problems to eliminating the scourge of AIDS�will require every young person to learn more about other regions, cultures, and languages. I applaud the Goldman Sachs Foundation and Asia Society�s efforts to promote international learning and congratulate this year�s prizewinners.�

Stephanie Bell-Rose, President of The Goldman Sachs Foundation, said: �If young Americans are to take on challenging leadership roles in the future and help the United States maintain its competitive edge, they must have not only an education well grounded in the technology of the 21st Century, but also a deep understanding of other cultures, geography, history, and languages. The world will demand it of them�we must demand it of our educational system.�

In June 2003, The Goldman Sachs Foundation and Asia Society established a national competition for annual prizes recognizing excellence in international education. The prizes were established to identify and recognize the best examples of international education for K-12 students and teachers, and to disseminate practical and innovative models that are worthy of broader visibility and replication. Independent experts reviewed over 300 applications, from a wide variety of schools�urban, suburban, and rural; public, private, and charter�in 44 states and the District of Columbia. Stimulated by many different factors�new diversity in communities; the leadership of a single teacher or principal; the arrival of an international company in a community; September 11�these programs represent the leading edge of a grassroots movement to strengthen international literacy. A distinguished jury selected the prizewinners.

The Prizes demonstrate a multi-level approach addressing the international knowledge gap and recognize innovation, creativity and demonstrated effectiveness in teaching foreign languages and world affairs. (Click here to read more about selection criteria.)

"Americans assume that the world speaks English. But we need an effective pipeline in the major world languages to meet our international security needs, for effective partnership with our allies, and for homeland security, where police, public health and law enforcement officials will all need to deal with many different language groups." said Ambassador Nicholas Platt, President of the Asia Society. �The Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes are blazing an important path that will strengthen children�s language, cultural knowledge and inquiry skills.�

Winners from local schools, statehouses, university programs and the media and technology sector are promoting rich, engaging instruction that is integrated into all the major subjects; fostering effective teaching and learning of world languages; preparing teachers with essential international knowledge and skills; expanding state policy supports; and connecting America�s youth to peers in the rest of the world through creative use of media and technology.

The John Stanford School, for example, is demonstrating how dual language immersion can improve student fluency when it begins at an early age. Evanston Township High School has created an International Studies graduation requirement and developed internationally themed social science courses to prepare diverse college bound students.

�Without an educational and media establishment that takes on the responsibility of teaching and informing and respecting the riches of foreign cultures, this country could become a parochial suburb of a vital global village,� said Morley Safer, CBS �60 Minutes� correspondent and Prizes juror.

The prizewinners exemplify how international knowledge and skills are no longer a luxury for high achieving or affluent students; they are a necessity. Their models demonstrate how a global focus can improve the quality of teaching, while getting the values of mutual understanding, respect, and cooperation into the curriculum, and inspiring students� curiosity to explore beyond their borders. The programs have been successfully interwoven into the regular school day, in after-school programs, and at home, while meeting the educational standards demanded by state and national policies such as the No Child Left Behind Act.

Teachers and community leaders who submitted applications demonstrated how international education has helped students improve achievement, engage diverse neighbors and new immigrants, or influenced their career aspirations. From the millions of young children and parents delighted by Sesame Street�s Global Grover, to the thousands of teens and teachers who construct projects with peers in over 100 countries through the iEARN program, the prizewinners illustrate how to prepare students to work, live and lead in our interconnected world.

 

PRIZEWINNER SELECTION CRITERIA
Prizes are being selected in the following five categories:

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE SCHOOL PRIZE
The Elementary/Middle School Prize recognizes an elementary or middle school that engages all or most of its students in learning about other world regions, cultures and languages. Reviewers assessed whether the applicant exhibited:

  • Challenging curriculum that integrates international content into different curriculum areas;
  • Emphasis on learning world languages;
  • Partnerships that support the international dimension of school;
  • Commitment of the school leadership and faculty to active student learning and continuing professional development;
  • Use of technology to promote international learning; and
  • Measures of student success in learning about the world.

HIGH SCHOOL PRIZE
The High School Prize recognizes a secondary school that engages all or most of its students in learning about Asia, Africa, Latin America or the Middle East, or about international affairs through its curriculum and through partnerships with other countries or local organizations. Reviewers assessed whether the applicant exhibited:

  • Challenging curriculum that integrates international content into different curriculum areas;
  • Emphasis on learning world languages;
  • Partnerships that support the international dimension of school;
  • Commitment of the school leadership and faculty to active student learning and continuing professional development;
  • Use of technology to promote international learning; and
  • Measures of student success in learning about the world.

HIGHER EDUCATION PRIZE The Higher Education Prize recognizes a higher education institution that shows exceptional commitment to promoting international knowledge and skills in K-16 through either (a) its teacher preparation program or (b) through creating ongoing partnerships with local schools to introduce international content. Reviewers assessed these as to whether the applicants exhibited:

  • Strong content of school partnerships, e.g. curriculum support and professional development;
  • Duration of partnerships; and
  • Measurable outcomes.

STATE PRIZE
The State Prize recognizes a state that is actively promoting the development of international knowledge and skills on a wide scale through the creation of robust state policies and specific programmatic initiatives. All proposals submitted from within a state were taken into consideration for this category; reviewers evaluated the entire pool to select a state whose overall efforts stood out from the rest.

MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY PRIZE
The Media/Technology Prizes recognize a private sector or nonprofit organization that has developed outstanding programs that use media/technology to educate students or teachers about other world regions and cultures, or international issues. Reviewers evaluated whether applicants exhibited some of the following:

  • Creativity in communicating compelling international content to a diverse community of learners;
  • Effectiveness in promoting international knowledge through virtual connections between US students and teachers and those in other parts of the world;
  • Effectiveness in using technology to develop skills in world languages; and
  • Potential reach or potential to be a model for promoting international knowledge and skills among students and teachers.
 

 

 

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