GLOBAL ALERT 10.14.11
FROM THE DC CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP (CGEL)
Contact: Sally Schwartz, Executive Director · Phone: 202-251-1692 · E-mail: sally@dc-cgel.org
Website: www.dc-cgel.org · fb: www.facebook.com/DCCenterforGlobalEducationandLeadership
Date:
October 14, 2011
To:
DC Principals, Educators, Parents, and Interested Community Members
From:
Sally Schwartz, Director, DC Center for Global Education and Leadership (CGEL)
Subject:
GREAT FREE GLOBAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR DC SENIOR HIGH STUDENTS
____________________________________________________________________________
Please post and/or pass along this information to anyone in a position to take advantage of these excellent free (or
almost free) international educational opportunities:
Contents:
 Global DC Initiative – GLOBAL COORDINATORS
 Follow us on facebook
 NSLI For Youth
 Operation Understanding DC
 Global Citizen Year
 Kennedy-Lugar YES (Youth Exchange and Study) Program
 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
 Congress-Bundestag Vocational Youth Exchange
 Ruta Quetzal BBVA Adventure Study Tour
 Youth For Understanding
 REMINDER: Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange
 CGEL Global Educator Sign up
GLOBAL DC INITIATIVE – GLOBAL COORDINATORS WANTED!
Last month, at an event at Cardozo Senior High School, Mayor Vincent Gray announced the launch of the Global DC
Initiative, a collaboration between the DC Center for Global Education and Leadership (CGEL) and the Office of the State
Superintendent of Education (OSSE). This six-month project will include a report on the current state of global education
in DC public schools, a Global Education Summit, and community conversations to help create a common vision for what
a globalized system in DC could look like. This is very exciting progress.
To prepare, we are asking every DCPS and DC public charter school to identify a “Global Coordinator” who will be our
point of contact to facilitate the flow of information – both to and from the school – for this initiative and for other global
education news. More information about the Global DC Initiative will follow next week. In the meantime, those
interested should email sally@dc-cgel.org to sign up to be their school’s Global Coordinator.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK!
We will be using facebook to post student and educator global opportunities as we receive them. “Liking” us on
facebook at www.facebook.com/DCCenterforGlobalEducationandLeadership will be your best way to receive the
most up-to-date information on global education in DC.
DC CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP ALERT. 10/14/11 – Page 1
INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS
NSLI FOR YOUTH: SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY LANGUAGE ABROAD
Program Dates: Summer 2012 and 2012-13 School Year
Application Deadline: November 3, 2011
The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) is a US State Department funded program which
provides American high school students with free opportunities to study less commonly taught critical languages in
overseas academic settings. Full merit-based scholarships are available to study overseas for summer, semester,
and academic year programs in Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian, and Turkish. NSLI-Y
scholars participate in intensive language classes, home stays, cultural experiences, and volunteer projects. These
are EXCELLENT opportunities for students to get started on learning a critical language that will be extremely useful
in their future college and career plans. Applicants must be US citizens, high school students with a minimum 2.5
GPA, and 15-18 years of age at the start of the program. Previous language study is not required.
NSLI for Youth only accepts on-line applications. To apply, go to http://www.nsliforyouth.org. For more
information, refer to http://exchanges.state.gov/youth/programs/nsli.html, or contact American Councils at 1-866790-2086 or nsliy@americancouncils.org.
OPERATION UNDERSTANDING DC
Program Dates: Jan – Dec 2012
Application Deadline: November 10, 2011
Operation Understanding DC’s mission is to build a generation of African American and Jewish community leaders
who promote respect, understanding, and cooperation while working to eradicate racism, anti-Semitism and all
forms of discrimination. Each fall OUDC selects African American and Jewish juniors from DC area schools to take
part in this one-year (Jan-Dec) leadership program. Students learn about their respective histories and cultures,
take part in a summer 2012 travel program to sites of historic interest to African Americans and Jews, and return
the following fall for leadership training and to lead diversity seminars. This is a great program for students with
leadership potential and an interest in social justice and cross-cultural understanding. The program is FREE.
Go to www.oudc.org for more information and to download the application. Or call OUDC at 202-234-6832.
On October 24th at 7 pm, interested students and parents can join OUDC at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th Street, NW,
for the program, “And the Young Shall Lead Us: A Conversation with Operation Understanding.” Current and past
members of the program will discuss their experiences. Performance by hip hop artist Christylez Bacon.
For ticket information, go to: http://fords.org/event/and-young-shall-lead-us.
GLOBAL CITIZEN YEAR
Program Dates: 2012-13 School Year (this is a “Gap Year” Program)
Early Application Deadline: November 15, 2011
Global Citizen Year (GCY) is currently recruiting a diverse group of high potential graduating seniors to participate in an
innovative “Gap Year” program, bridging high school and college with an immersive educational experience abroad. The
program begins in the fall 2012 with a US training program in California, followed by an in-country orientation, ongoing
language training, and six months living with a family and serving an apprenticeship in a community in Africa, Asia, or
Latin America. This exciting and highly competitive program is for those qualified, adventurous graduates who want a
truly global experience before entering college. GCY provides generous, need-based scholarships to ensure that ability to
pay is not a barrier to student participation. Applicants must be US citizens.
For much more information and to apply online, go to www.globalcitizenyear.org, or contact Sally Schwartz at
sally@dc-cgel.org
DC CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP ALERT. 10/14/11 – Page 2
KENNEDY-LUGAR YOUTH EXCHANGE AND STUDY (YES) ABROAD PROGRAM
Program Dates: 2012-13 School Year
Application Deadline: January 11, 2012
The US State Department will offer 55 full scholarships through its YES Abroad Program for American high school
students to live and study for either a semester or a school year in countries with significant Muslim populations.
The target countries are Bosnia & Herzegovina, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Oman,
Thailand, and Turkey. The program includes home stay and high school experiences that are intended to increase
mutual understanding between American youth and young people abroad, and to deepen appreciation for
religious diversity. An additional important benefit is valuable exposure/immersion in a less commonly taught
language. Applicants must be US citizens, 15-18 years of age, and high school students at the time of application.
Finalists will be chosen based on their demonstration of global awareness, interest in diverse cultures, curiosity,
and open-mindedness.
For additional information and to apply online, go to http://exchanges.state.gov/youth/programs/yesabroad.html
or http://yesprograms.org/yesabroad.
CONGRESS-BUNDESTAG YOUTH EXCHANGE (CBYX)
Program Dates: 2012-13 School Year
Application Deadline: TBD (Dec 2011 or Jan 2012)
The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Program offers American high school students the opportunity to
live and study abroad in Germany for an academic year through joint sponsorship by the US Congress and the
German Bundestag. This fully-funded program includes cultural immersion through living with a host family and
attending a German high school; intensive language course upon arrival in Germany; and meetings with US
German and US government officials. Eligible students are US citizens or permanent residents, aged 15-18, with a
GPA of 3.0 or higher. AFS-USA administers the selection process and the program for Washington, DC.
Applications must be submitted online through www.usagermanyscholarship.org. For further information, refer to
that website or www.afsusa.org/study-abroad/scholarships/congress-bundestag.
CONGRESS-BUNDESTAG VOCATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE PROGRAM
Program Dates: 2012-13 School Year
Application Deadline: January 31, 2012
This is a very special, fully funded gap year or 13th year abroad for graduating US high school students with a
vocational or career education background (the organizers use a very broad definition of vocational/career
education). Co-funded by the US Congress and the Congress-Bundestag, and administered by Nacel Open Door,
this prestigious program is for mature and motivated high school graduates, 18 or 19 years old by July 1 of the
departure year, and US citizens, with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Prior German language study is not required.
Participants will engage in two months of intensive German language training, host family placement,
training/school attendance, and hands-on experience through an internship with a German company (they try to
find an internship in the student’s field of interest). All applicants must be nominated by their high schools. This is
a great opportunity; Germany is internationally known for the excellence of its career education programs. We’d
really like to find DC students to apply. Anyone interested should contact Sally at sally@dc-cgel.org to discuss.
For more information and to apply, go to www.nacelopendoor.org/traveling_scholarships.htm or call 800-622-3553.
DC CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP ALERT. 10/14/11 – Page 3
RUTA QUETZAL BBVA ADVENTURE-STUDY TRIP
Program Dates: Summer 2012
Application Deadline: TBD
This is the most amazing summer program ever! It is extremely competitive, but I know of one DCPS student –
from Coolidge SHS – who was selected in 2001, so it’s not impossible. Offered to American students through the
Embassy of Spain, Ruta Quetzal selects a few hundred Spanish-proficient students from all over the world to
participate in this fully-funded five-week summer academic-adventure program exploring the Hispanic world. The
2012 Ruta Quetzal program will take place in Colombia and Spain. Applicants must be US citizens, and born in
either 1995 or 1996 (no exceptions). Student applicants should be high performing academically, in good physical
condition, with advanced written and oral Spanish language abilities (heritage speakers are eligible, if US citizens).
The application process is quite elaborate and challenging – and definitely requires both creativity and motivation
on the part of the applying student. But worth applying for anyway! Application and travel details are not
available yet, but for interested and qualified students, it’s not too early to begin working on the application.
Anyone interested in applying should contact Sally Schwartz at sally@dc-cgel.org for information and insights. For
more information, go to http://www.rutaquetzalbbva.com or
http://www.educacion.gob.es/aux1/eeuu/convocatorias-programas/convocatorias-eeuu/ruta-quetzal.html or
email consejeria.usa@educacion.es.
YOUTH FOR UNDERSTANDING-USA
Program Dates: Summer 2012 and 2012-13 School Year
Application Deadline: Various
Youth For Understanding-USA offers a huge menu of great summer and school year exchange programs with
countries all over the world. YFU-USA also offers a range of scholarship opportunities. Refer to the YFU-USA
website for information: http://yfuusa.org/american-students/scholarships.php. In particular, you might want to
check out scholarships for Japan, Germany, and the Finland US Senate Youth Exchange for summer 2012.
DEADLINE REMINDER FOR EDUCATORS
FULBRIGHT CLASSROOM TEACHER EXCHANGE PROGRAM
Travel Dates: 2012-2013 School Year
Application Deadline: October 15, 2011
The highly prestigious Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program provides US teachers with opportunities to exchange
positions with colleagues in other countries. Full-time US teachers can take part in either a year-long or semesterlong direct exchange with a counterpart in one of the following countries: Czech Republic, France, Hungary,
Mexico, India, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom.
For further information and for application instructions, go to http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/. If you
have additional questions, e-mail fulbrightcte@fhi360.org or call one of the contact numbers on the Fulbright
Teacher Exchange website.
DC CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP ALERT. 10/14/11 – Page 4
DC CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP
DCPS Global Educator Sign-up
The DC Center for Global Education and Leadership (CGEL) works to promote global education within DC Public
Schools and DC public charter schools. The information below will be used to create a distribution list for
disseminating information to DC educators about global education opportunities and resources at little or no cost.
Please pass this form along to any DC public school educators (teachers, administrators, or other staff) who are
interested in signing up to receive CGEL updates on global or international education. Each individual should fill
out a form and return it by e-mail to Sally Schwartz at dc.cgel@gmail.com. Thank you.
Name:
Position:
Grade Level(s) Served:
School:
Home Address:
E-mail Address (principal means of contact):
DIRECT Phone Number (specify home, mobile, work):
Check areas of interest:
Africa/African Diaspora
Middle East
Latin America/Western Hemisphere
Asia
Multicultural/diversity education
Europe
Foreign affairs, international diplomacy
Peace studies
Comparative international education
Other interests (describe):
Check here if you are willing to help disseminate information about global education opportunities for
students and educators within your school.
Check here if you are Interested in learning more about how to get involved with the DC Center for Global
Education and Leadership (CGEL)
FEEL FREE TO ADD INFORMATION about yourself, your international experience, and interest and background in
global education:
Please fill out and return electronically to dc.cgel@gmail.com.
Feel free to e-mail or call Sally Schwartz, CGEL Director, at 202-251-1692 with any questions.
DC CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP ALERT. 10/14/11 – Page 5