IN THIS ISSUE   
Global Language Convention Keynotes Announced
Governor Vetoes International Education Legislation in Georgia
International Network of Principals Centers to host Conversation
Internship Program Kicks off with First Intern
International Classroom
CASIE Hiring for Event & Marketing Coordinator

QUICK LINKS   
International College/University Fair Flyer
Global Language Convention Registration
Water Educational Exchange Registration

Global Language Convention Keynotes Announced

CASIE is pleased to announce that Katty Kay has been invited to give the opening keynote speech at the 2008 Global Language Convention.   Joining Kay are Dr. Colin Baker and Dr. Myriam (Mimi) Met. 

Katty Kay is a Washington-based correspondent for BBC News and regularly anchors news programs seen on BBC World. Kay’s experience – she grew up in the Middle East and was educated there – provides a unique perspective through the lens of a seasoned journalist with global credentials. Her comments and observations reveal an international perspective on the most important stories of the day. 

Dr. Colin Baker is a Professor of Education at the University of Wales, Bangor. He has authored 15 books and over 50 articles on bilingualism and bilingual education, with specific interests in language planning and bilingual education.

Dr. Myriam Met is a Senior Research Associate, and former Acting Director, at the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland, where her work focuses on strategic support for K-12 programs for foreign language learners and for students learning English.  Her previous positions include supervisor of foreign language programs, English for Speakers of Other Languages, and bilingual education for major urban and suburban school districts, including responsibility for designing, implementing, and supervising a variety of immersion program models.

For more information on the GLC, visit www.casieonline.org/GLC.  To register now at the early bird price, click here.

Governor Vetoes International Education Legislation in Georgia

Two important pieces of international-related education legislation made it to the desk of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, but had an ill fate.  The first, House Bill 467, which would have granted 24 semester hours of college credit to Georgia students who graduate with a full IB Diploma, passed both the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate, but Governor declined to sign the bill on May 24. 

The second piece of legislation was the budget which included $1.6 million in funding for the state of Georgia's Elementary School Foreign Languages (ESFL) model challenge. Participating schools provide 30 minutes of daily instruction in French, German, Japanese or Spanish to all students in grades Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. The program began in 1992 in 15 school systems across Georgia and has since expanded to many schools throughout the state. Governor Perdue used his line item veto power on May 30 to cut an estimated $130 million from the budget, including the ESFL program.

For more information on what bills are being discussed with Georgia General Assembly, visit www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/.

For more information on what IB legislation has been passed in other states within the United States and Canada visit the IBNA website.

International Network of Principals Centers to host Conversation in October

CASIE is pleased to be working with the Principals Center to present the 2007 International Network of Principals Centers (INPC) “Conversation” on October, 17-20, 2007. The Conversation, as employed by the INPC is a vehicle that facilitates a collegiality among educators so that creative, challenging and structured learning takes place. At the INPC’s Annual Conversations, educators from all around the world find a safe space, free of judgment, where thoughtful expression of values and ideas and where sharing experiences and craft skills occur.

The Principals Center at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, will be the host for the 2007 Annual Conversation along with North Georgia College and State University and other supporting organizations, including CASIE. The focus will be on “Leadership at Every Level” and the agenda will be packed with dynamic presenters, interesting activities, lots of time for small group discussions, and entertainment by local school students. All educators are invited to participate in the Conversation.

For more information about the INPC visit its temporary site www.slc-gno.org/inpc/welcome.htm.  For information on how to get involved and/or register for Conversation in Atlanta call 404.651.1151 or visit www.principalscenter.org.

Internship Program Kicks off with First Intern

On May 21st, CASIE welcomed its first intern, Chantea Williams.  Chantea is from Toronto, Canada, where she will be a senior at the University of Toronto in the fall.  She is specializing in English with a minor in Sociology.  Chantea plans to move to Atlanta when she graduates and become a high school English teacher.  Chantea was drawn to CASIE’s internship program because it offers her exposure to the international classroom, a better understanding of the International  Baccalaureate Programme and exposure to the workings of a non-profit organization.  As part of her internship, Chantea will audit classes at Atlanta International School as well as take a Diploma Level IB Workshop.

CASIE’s internship program is designed for undergraduate education majors who illustrate a strong desire to teach in underserved school districts. The internship length is two to three months and includes a monthly stipend. CASIE is accepting applications for Spring 2008 interns through October 15, 2007.  For additional information, visit www.casieonline.org/Programs/Interns.html.

International Education in Practice
Part of the International Classroom Series, showing international education in practice.
By Jan Case

The Kindergarten students at The Awty International School in Houston, Texas, applied a unit from the International Primary Curriculum to shine some light on the subject of ‘Day and Night’.  The discovery process began when the students were ushered into a completely darkened classroom.  After a few moments of simply sitting quietly, a single candle was lit.  The children were able to experience how effective one small candle is in dispelling the darkness.  Thus the first concept, “darkness is the absence of light”, was introduced.

The children gained insight into how musical elements can be used to create different light and dark effects by carefully listening to selections such as ‘Claire de Lune’ by Debussy and Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’. Lively explorations featuring starring roles by the Sun and Earth demonstrated the change from day to night.  Literature selections such as Nine O’Clock Lullaby by Marilyn Singer and Somewhere In the World Right Now by Stacey Schuett took the children on a fascinating journey across time zones and addressed the children’s curiosity as to where the sun goes when they go to bed.  For many Awty students, America is their host country.  Their curiosity peaked when imagining that relatives in their home country were eating dinner while they in fact were enjoying a Texan breakfast!  One child took great pleasure in the realization that the sun is always shining on someone in his family.

This unit integrated beautifully throughout the curriculum, however equally as important, a new awareness by the students that we all behold the same sun and moon helped to foster a sense of connectedness with children around the world.

CASIE Has Open Position

CASIE is looking to fill a temporary, full-time position of Events and Marketing Coordinator. The Events and Marketing Coordinator reports to the Director of Communications and Marketing and assists in the coordination, execution and management of workshops and special events with an emphasis on the Spring 2008 Global Language Convention. The Events and Marketing Coordinator will work on all convention events. Specifically the Events and Marketing Coordinator will be responsible for managing the speaker process, managing all event-related logistics, managing sponsor relations and contributing to the production of all event-related collateral, event cue-to-cue and script production. The Events and Marketing Coordinator will assist the Director of Communications and Marketing in Event vision and design. To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume via email to Bobbi Kay or fax 404.848.9042.  Click here to see the full job description.

PAST ISSUES          March-May '07          Dec '06 - Feb '07

Notes from Alex

Welcome to the June-August issue of CASIE Connections.  For those of you in the northern hemisphere this comes at the end of an extremely rewarding school year.  I would really like to wish you an enjoyable summer break!

Many of you will be attending CASIE IB workshops in June/July and I welcome the opportunity to meet with you.  This is proving to be another record-establishing year for CASIE workshops, as we will have almost 1,000 educators coming to our three sessions (320 for PYP, 380 for MYP and 280 for DP).  This is evidence of the growing popularity and importance of all three IB Programmes, not only here in the United States, but around the world. 

While the large majority of MYP and PYP participants are from schools within the IBNA region, the DP workshop has attracted participants from over 20 countries, spread through all the IB regions. 

While these workshops are taking up most of our time and efforts as I write, we are also well advanced in the planning stages for several exciting events during the 2007 – 2008 school year.

The Global Language Convention which we are hosting in collaboration with the International Baccalaureate in April 2008 is beginning to take shape.  In another article you will see details of the three exciting keynote speakers that we have arranged, and we are calling for papers/workshops for this important event.  We are focusing mainly (but by no means exclusively) on dual-language programs, either within the framework of the IB, or as stand-alone programs.  Our goal is to showcase as many examples of good practice as possible, so that people can really learn from other experiences.  We really hope that many schools will be willing to present their programs with pride and professionalism, and take part in meaningful interchanges with others.

It is our goal to have schools from all parts of the world participate, and we already have clear expressions of interest from schools in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Japan and Thailand as well as various countries in Europe.   I recently visited four schools in Latin America, and was really impressed with the depth and variety of dual-language programs in that area.

We will be working with the Council of International Schools to host another International College Fair in Atlanta in September, and all indications are that it will be larger and better than last year’s highly successful pilot.

CASIE continues to work with government agencies to promote international and language education.  Progress has been made here in Georgia, but there is still a large amount of work to be done to help politicians understand the pressing need for an expansion of IB and language programs.

Yes, these are interesting times for those of us committed to the ideals of international and language education.  With your support, we will continue to play as positive a role as possible in bringing these programs to an ever-widening group of public, charter and independent schools.

Best wishes to you all.

Alex Horsley

© Copyright Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education 2007-2008.
If you experience difficulty with this page, please contact the webmaster