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Earlier this month, students from all 15 schools with Chinese language programs traveled to Deal MS for a celebration of the Lunar New Year. Students ushered in the Year of the Dog with a Chinese fashion show, recitations of poems and traditional dance performances. Congratulations to DCPS Chinese teachers and Happy New Year! Together with Food and Nutrition Services, we hosted Paraguayan Food Day, our second International Food Day of the year last week. The Embassy of Paraguay visited their Embassy Adoption Program school, Neval Thomas ES, bringing special treats and a musical performance. We hope that you enjoyed your President's Day Weekend! Many thanks for all of your hard work during this busy month.
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| Global Snapshot: Excellence in Action
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| From top, clockwise: DCPS Chinese programs gathered on Friday, February 9 to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year 2018. Schools from across the District performed in front of an audience over 500, including members of the press and the Chinese Ambassador. Ms. Witherspoon's 6th graders at LaSalle-Backus learn about the Philippines with their Embassy Adoption Program partner (they were featured on the Embassy's website here!); Students at Eaton ES practice their animals in Chinese with Ms. Lou. Have a photo you'd like featured in our newsletter? Submit your global photos to DCPS Global Ed using the link here.
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Help Us Plan GlobalEdCon 2018
Take this one-minute survey to help us plan GlobalEdCon 2018!
DCPS Global Education plans to offer schools from our entire district, teachers, leaders, and external partners a chance to come together for a day-long conference around the theme of global education and global competence in the classroom, with partner-led and teacher-led sessions selected through a "Request for Proposal" system. These types of conferences are incredibly insightful, but often costly. We would provide this free of cost to our DCPS employees. Please take a minute to help us gauge when the best time would be for a district-wide conference-style gathering of global education enthusiasts. We need your input in deciding what time works best for teachers, school staff, and school leaders so that we can maximize attendance at this one of a kind, FREE Global Education conference. If you are a teacher, please forward this to your school leader!
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Global Scholar Certificate
The Global Education office is officially launching the Global Scholar Certificate, a diploma and transcript recognition that will be available to secondary students. The GSC indicates that a student has dedicated significant time to develop their global competence and has successfully demonstrated an exceptional level of global understanding. We want to see a strong inaugural cohort of seniors getting recognized for their global competence and we need YOUR help! Here we outline the general requirements for this distinction with a student-friendly flyer you can use for outreach. You can explore this in much more detail as well as view all of the resources we have available to make this a reality for our students here. E-mail ximena.marquez@dc.gov if you’d like to volunteer as a school-site GSC ambassador by distributing flyers and communicating this to your staff via e-mail. We will provide the printed materials and the e-mail text!
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Spanish-language PCMAS
DCPS has been working with OSSE to address some of the challenges faced by Spanish-language teachers trying to get licensed in DC. OSSE has agreed to allow the Spanish-language PCMAS General to replace some of the Praxis exams. See information below for details. Please complete this survey to help us with the logistics of this fast-arriving test date if you are interested in taking the PCMAS.
What: OSSE has officially agreed to accept the PCMAS (Pruebas para la Certificacion de Maestros) in place of Praxis Core and the Praxis Practices of Teaching and Learning exam for teachers who are fully licensed in their home country. All teachers will still need to pass the Praxis II exam that most closely aligns to their college coursework to apply for DC licensure.
Who: PCMAS will be accepted in place of Praxis Core and PTL for teachers who are fully licensed in their home country.
When: The Language Acquisition Division has been working with the College Board to arrange to offer the PCMAS exam locally (normally it is only available in Puerto Rico). There will be ONE administration on March 9th, 2018. The time is still to be determined. We recognize that this is a school day (it was all they could offer us) and that it does not leave much time to prepare. Unfortunately this is the best we can do for this year.
Where: The test will be offered at Sistema Universitaria Ana G. Mendez in Wheaton, MD. The exact location will be announced shortly.
Cost: The PCMAS General costs $235. Registration information will be sent soon.
How to prepare: You can find sample tests and test prep suggestions here
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| Professional Development & Educator Opportunities
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| Teach-In on Global Migrations and Refugees: the US and the Middle East
This event for educators at George Mason University will feature a session on historical background in and multiple speakers on issues emerging from 21st century migration. Sessions will explore facets of migration in the context of the Middle East and North Africa from a regional and contemporary perspective of 21st century issues, as well as from historical and policy perspectives as they relate to migrants from the region in the United States since the 19th century. Register here.
Date: February 24, 2018
Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short-Term Program
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and IIE invite U.S. K-12 teachers and educators to engage in 2-6 week collaborative projects abroad. Participants consult with and support projects with schools, non-profit organizations, teacher training institutions, and other educational organizations abroad. The award funds travel costs, lodging, meals, local transportation, and related costs. Learn more here.
Deadline: February 28, 2018
NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is hosting one- to four-week summer study and professional development programs for K-12 educators on a wide range of subjects including: Cold War era art, music, and film; the impact of the 1918 Spanish Flu on U.S. and world history; Alabama’s civil rights legacy; and Roman Daily Life. or a list of the seminars and institutes to be offered in the summer of 2018, along with eligibility and application requirements, please visit the website here.
Deadline: March 1, 2018
Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms
The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and IREX have announced the launch of the 2018 application cycle for the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms (Fulbright TGC) Program. Fulbright TGC is a year-long professional development fellowship for United States elementary, middle, and high school teachers to become leaders in global education. Global education is integral to building 21st century skills, and teachers are the greatest resource to empower students as global citizens. Learn more here.
Deadline: March 18, 2018
Narrative Atlas
MapWorks Learning, a D.C.-based education not-for-profit, is offering free use of Narrative Atlas, a secure multilingual online platform designed to support cross-cultural collaboration. A description of Narrative Atlas can be found .Through Narrative Atlas, students can work with overseas counterparts in a password-protected "studio space" on projects that feature storytelling, digital media, data collection, and mapping. Final projects can be posted to an openly accessible "exhibition space." MapWorks Learning is currently seeking teachers who want to engage their students with overseas classrooms in collaborative challenge-based projects that address the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more here or e-mail hello@narrativeatlas.org
World Bank Visitor Center Open
The World Bank's Visitor Center is available for student field trips. Information displayed in the center connects to many topics, including geography, history, math and art. Interactive visits include lessons with a World Bank Group expert on a a variety of topics (to be determine by educators) such as education, poverty, conflicts and fragility, etc. Learn more here and take a virtual tour here.
Contact: wbgvisitorcenter@worldbank.org
Peace Corps Speakers Match Program
Connect with a returned volunteer to enrich students' intercultural awareness and communication skills through the Peace Corps World Wise Schools Speakers Match Program. The organization will bring the Peace Corps experience directly to your learners via an in-person presentation from a returned Peace Corps Volunteer in your area. Request a speaker today!
United States Diplomacy Center Simulation Programs
The United States Diplomacy Center trains teachers to run simulations to expose students to the world of foreign affairs and help them develop global skills. In simulations, students work together, as opposing countries with competing interests, to find solutions. More information here.
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| Global Student Opportunities
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Arabic Children's Program
The Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center's Arabic Children's Program is committed to the task of building an appreciation of the language and understanding of its culture among the younger generation. Classes teach Modern Standard Arabic at all levels and across different age groups. Lessons are conducted in an immersion style environment and focuses on all four language learning skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Learn more about this scholarship program here.
Application deadline: February 18th, 2018
Citizen Diplomacy Initiative
Based in Washington D.C., Learning Life is an educational nonprofit that seeks to spread learning in everyday life beyond school walls. Learning Life’s Citizen Diplomacy Initiative (CDI) is a new, free program that engages eligible lower-income American families, starting in Washington DC’s Ward 8, in live internet dialogues and project collaborations with families in other nations to nurture more informed, skilled, connected and caring global citizens in the long-term. Here is a short video explaining the program; you can also learn more here. If you are interested and think your family is eligible, please contact Learning Life at email@learninglife.info. American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) Essay Contest
This year's High School AFSA Essay contest is now open! The AFSA is accepting submissions of essays on why diplomacy and peacebuilding matter. The writer of the winning essay will receive $2,500 and an all-expenses-paid educational voyage. Essays must be between 1,000 and 1,250 words. For more information, click here.
Deadline: March 15, 2018 Opportunity for Ward 8 Families: Home-Based World Learning
Learning Life, a DC Ward 8-based educational nonprofit, is now accepting inquiries from eligible, motivated Ward 8 lower-income families interested in learning about the world from the comfort of their own home. The Citizen Diplomacy Initiative, engages eligible Ward 8 families in live internet dialogues and project collaborations with families in other countries of the world free of charge.This year, participating families will explore their own and another country's food culture through interviews with their own family, an immigrant in DC, and a family in another country. Learn more here, or contact Paul Lachelier at 202-910-6966 or paul@learninglife.info.
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| CONTACT US
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