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.
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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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