Global Classroom Awards

2011 Global Classroom Awards

The Council on Standards for International Educational Travel is proud to present the recipients of the 2011 Global Classroom Awards. This awards program recognizes far-sighted educators and generous high schools that are fundamental components of international exchange. Without the enthusiastic collaboration of schools, exchange could never have the life-changing impact it so often does.

These two award winning schools actively support international youth exchange and were selected based on their commitment to promoting global understanding and international education. These schools showed evidence of their creativity, enthusiasm and dedication in welcoming exchange students while encouraging their local students to study abroad. Both schools have created a unique climate of support for exchange students through their desire to promote school-wide feelings of inclusiveness and global curiosity.

The winning schools will each receive a $500 scholarship for one of its students to study abroad or equivalent funds to be put towards increasing school-wide international awareness. The awards will be formally presented at the 4th Annual National School Conference on International Youth Exchange - October 28-29, 2011 in Seattle, Washington.

Below you will find an excerpt from each of their nominated essays.

Palmer Trinity School – Miami, FL
www.palmertrinity.org

“For the past 20 years Palmer Trinity School has welcomed exchange students from across the globe. We have hosted over 100 high school exchange students for a full academic year to a semester from Iceland, Germany, Serbia, Australia, France, and Spain and hundreds more for shorter periods. With a high school of less than 400 students, this has enriched out already diverse student population… Palmer Trinity is a unique school where global education is a vital part of the mission of our school. Out students come from 35 different foreign countries and almost half of our students are bilingual with 20% speaking more than two languages. Our school program not only includes student exchanges but partnerships with schools and organizations abroad to give our students a world view. Financial assistance is available so all of our students have an opportunity to participate. Throughout our curriculum, we focus on the countries we have partnerships. Our summer reading list introduces students to authors from Australia, Spain, France, and Central America. As a founding member of the Global Education Benchmark Group which includes 19 other schools who value global opportunities for our students, we hope to share our successes with other schools across the country.”

-Click here to read the full length essay-

Woodstock Union High School – Woodstock, VT
www.wuhsms.org

“We are a rural high school in Vermont drawing students from seven different towns in the surrounding area. Vermont itself is quite diverse in terms of culture, but not as diverse in terms of various nationalities. Every year we host students from around the world. This year we have students from China, Turkey, Germany, and Indonesia… Other countries where students have come from in the past five years are Spain, France, Bolivia, Thailand, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Taiwan, and Denmark. Students have had experiences abroad working with the East-West Center (Cambodia), School for International Training (Italy), and Oxbridge Academic Program (Cambridge)…We have a long standing school effort where students, teachers, and community members have traveled to Peru. Over the past seven years the groups that have traveled to Peru have raised money to help build two medical facilities, two school buildings, and fresh water wells”. As a Woodstock Union High School student described her experience in Peru, “There is no other way I would have rather spent my February break. In Peru, we weren't just a volunteer group from Woodstock. We became a family, united within diverse cultures and lifestyles. From mixing cement to bending rebar, I proved my own significance in this world in the smallest ways I knew how, which had the biggest impact on my life and others. I have never found so much happiness and bliss in a place with so little compared to my country.”

-Click here to read the full length essay-

2011 Honorable Mentions

The following schools were recognized by the 2011 CSIET Awards Committee for their strong commitment to International Education.

Nominees:

Past Global Classroom  Award Winners

2010 Winners

2009 Winners

2008 Winners

** All U.S. high schools are encouraged to join CSIET’s Online School Community. The CSIET Online School Community provides U.S. schools with a free CSIET School Membership, which includes being pre-registered for the next CSIET Advisory List published in May 2011. By joining, schools will remain up to date on U.S. government visa regulations, international education events and scholarship/grant opportunities. To learn more about the CSIET Online School Community please go to www.csiet.org/join. **