The 2006 Goldman Sachs winners in the school
categories place an emphasis on integrating
international skills throughout the curriculum and on
providing access to these skills to ethnically diverse
and low-income students.
Washington International School, Washington, DC,
winner in the elementary/middle school category,
serves more than 800 students from many
nationalities. Students start a second language in the
elementary grades and international content is
infused in all subject areas. A pioneer in international
education, Washington International now helps public,
parochial, and independent schools across the DC
area to increase the international focus of their
curriculum through its Center for International
Education.
Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in
Chicago, IL, is an inner-city selective enrollment
school that is one of the most ethnically diverse
schools in Chicago. Students take four years of a
world language and experience homestay exchanges
with sister schools around the globe. Advanced
technology, including the use of video-conferencing,
connects Payton classrooms to students and experts
around the world.
$8.7 million was awarded in grants to school districts
in 20 states to help increase the number of Americans
learning foreign languages critical to national security
and commerce. U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret
Spellings made the announcement this month
stating, "This is not just an education issue; it's an
economic issue, a civic issue, a social issue, a
national security issue, and it's everybody's issue."
Click here to see a list of all
programs awarded.
One school awarded a grant was the Academy of
World Languages in Cincinnati, Ohio. In celebration,
The Cincinnati Enquirer published a special
section entitled, Overcoming Our Langauge Barriers.
Included is an op-ed by John J. Castellani, president
of Business Roundtable. Click below to read this
article and more.
Smaller Learning Communities:The Smaller
Learning Communities (SLC) program awards
discretionary grants to local educational agencies to
support the implementation of SLCs and activities to
improve student academic achievement in large
public high schols, including schools-within-a-school
(which could include international schools). The
priority for this year is "Preparing All Students to
Succeed in Postsecondary Education and Careers."
For more information
click
here.
Grants to increase awareness of Japan: The
Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership is
awarding grants of up to $5,000 for projects conducted
through the end of the year. Grants are available to
states in the midwest and south and will be awarded
on a rolling basis. For more information
click
here.
Chinese and Arabic Teacher Exchange: The
Teachers of Critical Languages Program brings
qualified EFL teachers with at least five years
experience from China and Jordan to America where
they teach Chinese and Arabic for an academic year in
schools that offer the languages as a course of study.
They are currently looking for schools to host them.
Applications and more information can be found at
www.americancouncils.org or by contacting Ben
Dunbar at bdunbar@americancouncils.org or
202-833-7522.
2006 Goldman Sachs Prizes Awarded
The winners of the 2006 Goldman Sachs Prizes for
Excellence in International Education were honored at
an awards luncheon held on May 31, 2007 at Asia
Society. Attended by over 100 leaders from the New
York metropolitan area in education, business,
philanthropy, and media, the event featured Stephanie
Bell-Rose of The Goldman Sachs Foundation and a
panel consisting of Vishakha Desai, President of Asia
Society; Gaston Caperton, President of The College
Board; Robert Hormats, Vice Chairman of Goldman
Sachs (International); Joel Klein, Chancellor of New
York City Public Schools; and Orville Schell, Director of
Asia Society's Center on U.S. - China Relations. The
panel examined accelerating the educational
response to globalization and called for the need for
national public and policy attention coupled with
support from the business community to design an
educational system that meets the needs of all
students for the 21st century.
Prizes were awarded in four categories:
media/technology, a state, elementary/middle school
and high school. The media/technology prize was
awarded to Thirteen/WNET's Window into Global
History project, which engages high school teachers
and students in issues of global significance. Shown
at the awards luncheon was one of the free
downloadable video clips drawn from the
documentary series, WIDE ANGLE.
The state prize was awarded to Massachusetts for the
Massachusetts Initaitive for International Studies
(MIIS), a public-private partnership of leaders in
business, policy, and education led by Primary
Source. The statewide coalition has spearheaded key
policy initiatives, including the introduction of
legislation to promote international education and the
creation of a Global Education Advisory Council to the
MA State Department of Education.
Read the accompanying article, Schools Showcase
Skills, to learn about the school prizes. Click below for
more information on all prizewinners.
