Arundel High School
Final Project Summary
Presented to the University of Maryland
Office of International Education
By
Sharon Stratton, Principal
Anne Arundel County Public Schools requires each high school to develop a signature program. The
signature program incorporates the interests of the community, supports the development of business
and industry in the school community, and incorporates post secondary institutions. The theme of each
signature is determined by a variety of stakeholders both within and outside of the school. The
development of a signature takes many stages and is facilitated by an individual known as the signature
facilitator. Sherri Billheimer, signature facilitator at Arundel High School, has worked with the school
faculty, students, parents, community members, post secondary institutions, the business community
and representatives from each level of government.
As Ms. Billheimer planned and held a variety of World Cafes, she was able to gather a variety of ideas
and opinions from stakeholders including the students. It quickly became clear that the signature for
Arundel High School would focus on global citizenship. Once this topic was confirmed through yet
another series of meetings and surveys, Ms. Billheimer worked with school administration and fellow
teachers to investigate stakeholders that could support the writing of curriculum to infuse global
citizenship into courses and to write new courses that would further develop the concept of global
citizenship. In addition to resources for curriculum support, Ms. Billheimer needed to build a committee
to guide the work of the signature at the school. This community is known as the Integrated Community
Stakeholder Team or ICST. This team is constructed of various members of six different sectors of the
community: business, media, healthcare, government, educational institutions, and community
organizations. It is through these partnerships that classroom instruction becomes relevant, interesting,
and challenging for students with opportunities that connect to the 21st century workplace.
Throughout the 2010 -2011 school year, the first year of implementation, there have been many
different partnerships made and projects put into practice. One of the most exciting partnerships was
the creation of a “sister school” in Japan. Sagami-Ono High School is a 10-12 high school with
approximately 500 students. One of Sagami-Ono’s goals is the promotion of cross-cultural
understanding which is what they were able to accomplish while they conducted a one week home stay
with Arundel High School students. Through this experience, both Japanese and American students
were able to gain a greater understanding of cultural influences and similarities as well as differences.
Another successful partnership is one with the Ashoka’s Youth Venture. Through this partnership,
Arundel High was to attend a global leadership awards ceremony at the Kennedy Center. The ceremony
was sponsored by Vital Voices. It was a result of students attending this ceremony that Youth Venture
challenged Arundel students to create their own “venture” by acting as social entrepreneurs to solve
some of their community’s biggest, most difficult problems. In May 2011, there were two different
groups working on venture ideas. Additional partnerships made through the Signature Program include
the United States Institute of Peace, Towson University, University of Maryland, West County Chamber
of Commerce, and the Crofton Regional Community Center Organization.
The ICST and the faculty at Arundel High School were also able to complete a few projects while working
collaboratively. One that took precedence was the creation of the Community Development and Global
Citizenship Explorations Course. This course took over six months to create and perfect. Business
leaders sat at the tables with faculty to brainstorm which elements needed to be a part of this
introductory curriculum, make a blueprint for each unit, and create enhanced learning activities. After
this teamwork, the teachers began writing the outcomes, classroom activities and assessments. The end
product is something to be proud of! This kind of collaboration was also used to write curriculum
overlays in each 9th grade core class. Implementation of both the introductory curriculum and the
overlays has begun during the 2011/2012 school year. Another important project to note is Arundel
High School’s humanitarian efforts. For the last several years, Arundel High students have been
traveling around the world during their summer vacation volunteering their time and talents to help
others. One of the most “talked about” trips year after year is the trip to Guatemala. Students travel
with a local church (along with many Spanish IV students) to provide education and service. During the
20010/2011 school year, students returned from their travel and shared their experiences at a “Summer
Abroad assembly”. Joined by other world travelers, the student groups presented their journeys to
their peers enlightening each other on their cross cultural exchanges. This was assembly was so popular
that it will be a yearly assembly at Arundel for years to come.
The first year of our Signature Program, Community Development and Global Citizenship, was a huge
success. More students were exposed to the signature theme, many partnerships and programs were
implemented, parent involvement increased, and 25 students, parents, and educators are planning their
trip to Japan in June 2012. In addition, over 60 students are beginning their study of Chinese. In this brief
time, the teacher of Chinese is now working with a high school in China to develop a partnership with
our school. The success of last year is rolling into more exciting opportunities for students. Students will
continue to be exposed to global competencies and community workforce needs with contagious
enthusiasm!