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
The
University of Vermont, and its Asian Studies Outreach
Program (ASOP), is recognized for its work in assisting
schools throughout Vermont in introducing the study of
Asia into their curriculum and for its influence in inspiring
the state to examine the international education needs
of all students. In 1997, the University of Vermont initiated
a statewide program to introduce the study of Asia into
Vermont schools, kindergarten through 12th grade. ASOP
emphasizes building and sustaining partnerships with schools
over several years. The partnerships include assistance
to teachers in curriculum development, and to school districts
in expanding curriculum frameworks to include Asia and
provisions to enable visiting teachers from Asia to work
in Vermont schools. ASOP offers professional development
workshops for teachers in locations around the state and
through Vermont's interactive television network, which
reaches every high school. The program also offers teachers
study tours in China, Japan and Thailand. To promote institutionalization,
the program involves administrators in many of its activities.
Over the past three years, over 400 teachers have taken
part in workshops, more than 300 have visited Asia and
157 principals and superintendents have participated in
programs.
Fully
200 schools, or 33 percent of the total number of schools
in Vermont, are offering content about Asia on a regular
basis as a result of this program. The Vice Chair of the
Vermont State Board of Education also credits the University
of Vermont's ASOP with inspiring the state to establish
a gubernatorial task force to examine what it should be
doing to improve the international education of all its
students.
STATE
PRIZE
North Carolina
North
Carolina is the 2003 state winner of Goldman Sachs Foundation
Prize for Excellence in International Education for its
long history of efforts to promote international knowledge
and skills in the state. These include schools with an
international focus such as Exploris Middle School, Smith
Academy of International Languages, Winding Springs Elementary
School, and Terry Sanford High School. Universities across
the state have also worked with the schools to develop
strong international activities, for example East Carolina
University's Japan Center and World View, An International
Program for Educators at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill. The North Carolina Center for International
Understanding, based at the University of North Carolina
has been a central resource for international exchanges
for educators, business and policy leaders, and innovative
new program development. Technology collaborations like
IBM Corporation's World-Links Partnership with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools also build bridges to schools and cities abroad.
The
State of North Carolina under the leadership of Governor
Michael Easley and a multisectoral team that includes
Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Ward, the
University of North Carolina's Center for International
Understanding, and North Carolina's business community,
have undertaken a comprehensive effort to ensure that
all its students increase their international literacy.
The team has implemented a systematic assessment and survey
of current international programs in the state, conducted
focus groups examining community sentiment, designed new
international studies curriculum standards, and initiated
a review of teacher preparation and professional development
programs in the state. For more information on the ongoing work in North Carolina, please visit the State Initiatives page.
MEDIA
AND TECHNOLOGY PRIZE (CO-RECIPIENTS)
International Education and Resource Network (iEARN),
New York, NY
The
International Education and Resource Network (iEarn) is
a non-profit organization founded in 1988 to promote linkages
between schools in different parts of the world. Over
15,000 schools in 100 countries have participated in the
network, making it the largest and most active school-to-school
online linkage initiative involving thousands of schools
each day in collaborative educational projects with their
peers in other countries.
The
over 120 projects operated by iEarn are all designed and
facilitated by teachers and students to meet high priority
curriculum needs, as well as global citizenship and youth
development opportunities. Teachers and students enter
online forum spaces to get involved in collaborative learning
with classrooms in other parts of the world. Products
of these collaborations include magazines, creative writing
anthologies including work in multiple languages, Websites,
reports to government officials and creative performances
involving music and art. Recently, iEarn has also pioneered
online interactive professional development courses, which
have been tested by teachers in a number of countries,
to prepare educators to integrate these online learning
experiences in their classrooms.
Sesame
Workshop’s Global Grover, New York, NY
Founded
in 1968, Sesame Workshop is a non-profit communications
and education organization best known for its legendary
series Sesame Street. Local adaptations of Sesame Street
have helped preschool children and their families learn
and better understand each other in over 100 countries,
including Russia, China, South Africa, Egypt, Germany
and Mexico. The U.S. and international programming is
viewed by over a 100 million people worldwide on an annual
basis.
With
the debut of a new Sesame Street segment, called Global
Grover, in Spring 2003, the Workshop introduced a new
element to promote international knowledge and global
awareness among its viewers in the U.S. The furry blue
Muppet character Grover has traveled to over a dozen countries,
including China, South Africa, and Egypt, to expose children
and families to distinctive customs, folk stories, sporting
and cultural events and elements of language. The segments
appear regularly on over 250 PBS stations nationwide and
focus on an educational curriculum that promotes cultural
appreciation and respect for differing perspectives. Segments
featuring Global Grover model valuable social and inquiry
skills including the value of persistence, discovery,
cooperation and friendship. The Workshop is now developing
educational outreach materials, including books and supplementary
materials to be used in preschools and the primary grades,
to complement the television programming.
