INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Sister Cities Program will host its first conference for educators on Wednesday, June 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Covenant Christian High School. The purpose of the conference, “Indianapolis as a Global Crossroad: Celebrating, Educating & Connecting,” is to strengthen teachers’ and administrators’ knowledge of Indy’s changing cultural diversity and to identify ways to better engage all students in their communities.
 
The conference will include a light breakfast, remarks from Mayor Greg Ballard, a keynote address by Ruth E. Van Reken, co-author of “Third Culture Kids: Growing up Among Worlds,” a featured student panel and six breakout sessions covering a variety of opportunities for educators to employ global diversity both inside and outside the classroom. The first 100 registrants will receive a copy of Van Reken’s book.
 
Admission is $15 for those who register before May 18 and $20 for those who register after that date. To purchase tickets, please visit http://indyasaglobalcrossroad.eventbrite.com. For more information about the conference, please click here.
 
About the Mayor’s Office of International and Cultural Affairs:  In 2008, Mayor Ballard created the Office of International and Cultural Affairs to ensure that Indianapolis is globally recognized as a great place to live, work and raise a family. One of the initiatives of the Office of International & Cultural Affairs is the Indianapolis Sister Cities International program, which creates cultural and education linkages world-wide and supports international business development.
 
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Seven school superintendents from Indiana, upon entering the auditorium, were greeted with a huge sign draped across the back of the stage.  Mostly in Chinese, it also proclaimed in English, “Zhejiang-Indiana Basic Education Forum.”  That was the scene at Huzhou (pronounced who-zhō) High School where State Superintendent Glenda Ritz and six other members of her delegation spoke through translators to about 150 Chinese principals.  Presenters and their topics were as follows:

State Superintendent Glenda Ritz - Keynote on Indiana education and intercultural exchange

Dr. Kathy Steele, Superintendent at Crawfordsville - The Governance of public education in the U.S.

Dr. Jim Roberts, Superintendent at Batesville - Challenges financing education and educational exchange

Mr. Tom Hunter, Superintendent at Greensburg & Dr. Ginger Bolinger, Superintendent at Madison - Teaching creativity, problem solving, and cooperation

Mr. Mark Millis, Asst. Superintendent at Richmond - The American high school

Mr. Phil Boley, Executive Director of Global Indiana - Sustaining a valuable school partnership

Following the full morning of speeches, the principals and visitors joined one another for lunch.  All were satisfied with the conference and expressed the desire to more such gatherings.    

On Monday, October 14th, during a mission jointly sponsored by Global Indiana, the Chinese Education Connection, and the Indiana Department of Education Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Glenda Ritz, signed a historic memo in concert with her counterpart in Zhejiang Province, Indiana’s sister state in China.  The memorandum of understanding includes the following:

• The creation of sister school relationships including annual invitations to students and teachers visiting each other through camp and travel opportunities
  
• The promotion of foreign study opportunities for students in the sister states
  
• Assistance, information, and services for students seeking educational opportunities and scholarships
  
• The encouragement of joint efforts in language teaching, which may include training, recruitment, and placement
  
• The promotion of exchange and leadership training opportunities for principals and teachers
  
• The designation of Global Indiana and the Chinese Education Connection as facilitators in fulfilling the terms of the MOU
  

A recent visit by the principals of their sister schools resulted in great press for Global Indiana members Valley Mills Elementary School in Indianapolis and Julia Test Intermediate School in Richmond.  The Richmond visit was featured in both the print and electronic versions of the Richmond Palladium Item (click here) and the Indianapolis visit made it to the Star’s website (click here).  Involvement with Global Indiana international partnerships not only results in great experiences for your students, but it garners positive publicity as well!

In November of 2010, Global Indiana’s proposal for the Eighth Grade Odyssey program was selected as a “Top Ten Program” by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy.  Executive Director Phil Boley and President-elect Mary Ann Dewan traveled to Washington D.C. to operate a booth at the U.S. Summit and Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy.  Phil also gave a brief presentation at each of two break-out sessions at the conference.

The Eighth Grade Odyssey is a proposal for which GI is seeking funding.  A modified version may come to fruition if the right sponsorship is secured.

This program will identify talented 13 to 14-year old individuals for global training and international travel.  Statistics gathered by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel reveal that American students outbound for long term exchanges are outnumbered by incoming international students by a factor of more than 14 to 1.  American educators know the primary reason for this is the intense involvement of high school students in school-associated extra-curricular activities.  By introducing middle school students to international travel, the Global Indiana Consortium will pique the interest of these young leaders and will doubtlessly increase the likelihood they will participate in outbound exchanges as high school students.  The summer between the seventh and eighth grade years is the last free summer before student leaders become active in high school athletics and other extra-curricular activities.

In each participating state, the program will solicit nominations from middle level public, private, and charter school social studies and world language teachers.  A committee of educators and others involved in global education will identify 30 students based on an application and interview process.  Care will be taken to ensure the group reflects the state’s demographic make-up, including minority children and those living in poverty.  

The thirty individuals will participate in a four to five-day summer camp experience focusing on leadership, global awareness, cultural sensitivity, and team building.  The camp will be staffed by education professionals and college students and will be held in a state park or a YMCA or scout camp facility.  Guest speakers may include college faculty, Peace Corps veterans, Foreign Service professionals, and representatives from exchange organizations.  Team building activities will include exercises to improve communication skills, provide problem solving ability, enhance decision making, build trust, and increase group rapport.  The participants will also be introduced to myriad international opportunities available to high school and college students.

Following the camp, students will return home for a weekend to prepare for departure on a three-week cultural immersion experience in selected countries, which will vary by state.  Global Indiana and the State of Indiana currently have exchange agreements and/or viable contacts with the following countries:  China, France, Germany, Ghana, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, and Thailand.  As an example, we have enclosed the exchange agreement we have with the Provincial Government of Zhejiang Province in China.  The three week excursion will include home stays with screened host families, school visits, trips to historical and cultural sites, and planned interaction with peers in the host countries.  Students will be accompanied by educators and college age counselors at a minimum ratio of one to five.

When students return from their experience, they will be expected to prepare presentations for delivery to their classmates, to adult organizations, and to other schools.  Their enthusiasm will be infectious and will encourage other students to become involved in globally oriented activities.  The program will incorporate follow-up activities to ensure the continuation of enthusiasm.  A possibility would be a holiday reunion for the participants for them to get reacquainted and to reinforce the global awareness introduced the previous summer.  Veterans of the E-G-O program will have an advantage over other students who compete for admissions into selective colleges and universities, and will have an added measure of leadership and maturity to benefit them during their secondary school experience.
  
By exposing top students to global awareness training and international travel, E-G-O will likely increase the number of outbound exchange students, add to the number of young people with awareness of the world around them either directly or through contact with an Odyssey veteran, and expand the potential for future study abroad, gap year experiences, and other international activities. With additional funding, it is possible that veterans could be sponsored as outbound exchange students after their sophomore or junior year.

Global Indiana proposes a pilot program in our home state to work out details and to create a replicable model for use elsewhere in the nation.  This initial program could be in operation as early as March of 2011. While GI does not currently have the capacity to operate a nationwide program, the pilot will help us determine our personnel needs for program replication.  GI is currently in negotiations for corporate and foundation support to enable the board to hire a full-time executive director.  This will enhance our ability to perform the needed infrastructure work to make the operation of Eighth Grade Odyssey viable.  Even if these negotiations are not successful (and we believe they will be) we still have the volunteer capacity to operate an Indiana-based program.

We hope to secure a corporate sponsor; i.e. The (Sponsoring Company’s Name) Eighth Grade Odyssey, but currently, the only resources we can offer include office space, communication and technology equipment, and volunteer commitment.  Global Indiana is operated by a group of individuals who have been leaders in their fields and who are determined to make a difference in the lives of young people.  Their experience and leadership assures program success if funding becomes available.