Global Updates From World View
April 2005
Connect with a Classroom Abroad
What is a sister school?
A sister school relationship is an agreement between schools in different countries to collaborate on educational and intercultural activities. Sister school relationships can occur between K-12 schools or between community colleges. Here are some typical activities and tips for successful sister school programs.
Maintain correspondence with teachers and students through email or letters. Have your students share what a typical day is like and ask questions of the students in the classrooms abroad. Include class assignments that involve student inquiry.
Ongoing projects between schools are key to a productive program. Schools can research a global issue, music, art, science, etc. together through internet exchange. Charlotte Country Day has classroom collaborations with their sister school in England using video-conferencing for debates on bio-technology, including cloning. Students from Menomonie Middle School in Wisconsin study global wildlife migration with students in Mexico.
Schools exchange students for study visits. Here is an example of one way to approach an exchange program with your sister school. A group of fifteen students from a U.S. school travel to Chile for a two-week visit. They are accompanied by two teachers who have expertise and/or relations in Chile . Their Chilean hosts are families of the students who will visit the U.S. sister school. The sister school in Chile sends students to the U.S., and are hosted by the families of the students that traveled to Chile. Visits occur at different times during the year. Try to schedule trips while school is in session so your students can attend the sister school. The best trips are study-trips to learn about the host country and to continue collaboration on on-going projects between the schools. Visits can be focused on a defined project. In March 2005, Charlotte Country Day School participated in a Habitat for Humanity project with their sister school in China. Ten students from CCDS and ten students from the Chinese sister school worked together on this project. Getting Started
1) Contact a national organization that coordinates exchanges. Internet exchange is a good way to start a relationship with students and teachers in another country. Below are several organizations that can match schools or classrooms through the internet and email.
Relief International-Schools Online (www.schoolsonline.org) is running an exciting connectivity project with high schools globally. During the upcoming year these schools will be paired with high schools in the United States for school-to-school partnerships. Throughout the year partners will collaborate via information and communication technology to evaluate research, discuss and report on designated issues related to global civic education. Methods of collaboration include web-based chats and forums, e-mail exchanges, online newsletters, and message boards. Relief International-Schools Online also offers the exciting opportunity for teachers to participate in free exchanges to the countries they work with! The goal of the program is to facilitate virtual school-to-school projects as a means of building international relationships and deepening the cross-cultural exchange for students and of sharing education methodologies for teachers. Relief International-Schools Online is looking for passionate, involved educators who want to explore the world with their students! Connect with schools in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Palestinian Territories and Tajikistan
For more information on these program please contact Liliana Vazquez at Relief International–Schools Online: 255 Shoreline Drive, Suite 520 , Redwood Shores , CA 94065
Tel: 650-486-2431 Email : liliana@schoolsonline.org
Sister Schools (www.sisterschools.org) teach compassion, service, and social responsibility by partnering students in donor schools with children in need. Sister Schools achieves this through two symbiotic goals: first providing students the life-changing and character building experience of personal giving; and second providing supplies, hope and inspiration to children in need. Sister Schools began with one individual, Terry McGill. While traveling in East Africa with a sports organization, McGill saw the incredible poverty and hardship resulting from twenty years of civil war and a ravaging AIDS epidemic in the small country of Uganda . He was forced to ask a very personal question, “If I really am the kind of person I like to think I am, then what should I do about this?” This year they collected over 20,000 pounds of supplies! Six hundred forty-eight boxes containing more than 8,000 books; 7,000 articles of clothing; 2,200 pounds of paper; over 65,000 pens, pencils, crayons and markers; and several hundred boxes of games, toys, toiletries and various school supplies.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Shorebird Sister School Program (http://sssp.fws.gov)
This Program aims to inspire shorebird and habitat conservation by connecting people along flyways. Shorebirds are fascinating to study and open doors to other cultures.
People subscribing to the network include educators, students, biologists, wildlife refuge managers, planners, and shorebird enthusiasts. The web site is used by thousands of people each month, especially during peak migration, and has expanded from a Pacific Flyway focus to include all major United States and East Asian-Australasian flyways. The Web site is in English, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian. Currently, people from numerous countries and most United States are involved in the SSSP program. The program is an integral part of the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan. In collaboration with partners, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researchers, managers, and educators work together to help guide this education program toward accomplishing long-term shorebird conservation goals. Once registered you will receive new materials as they are developed. Currently, the new Shorebird Sister Schools student activity guide is available to groups or individuals that register. This comic-book style guide is full of crossword puzzles, mazes, and other activities that help teach kids about shorebirds, migration, habitat, and more. You will also learn where other participants are located and you will join a network of other participants along your flyway. If you choose to do a pen pal exchange, this will be an easy way to find a pen pal.
2) World View can help. World View has a new program to connect NC classrooms with Rotary Scholars worldwide. World View will even provide lesson plans and other resources on the countries where Rotary Scholars are living. The Scholars are able put a personal touch on the challenges and opportunities of living abroad and will try to connect US classrooms with those in the country in which they are a scholar. For more information contact Regina Higgins at World View.
3) Alumni, students and their families, and faculty with international connections are the best resources for establishing relationships with schools abroad. Directors of successful sister school programs report that the leads and contacts provided by these sources have been the most effective. “Be a good detective” advises Millie Cox, International Studies Director at Charlotte Country Day.
4) Visits by school faculty help establish a good program. After making contact and starting a relationship, the directors of the sister school program normally visit the sister school to establish more formal ties.
5) Sister cities can provide an effective framework for setting up sister schools. Contact your mayor's office for a list of your sister cities and contact information. North Carolina currently has over a dozen sister city partnerships with cities all over the world including Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico; Evritania, Greece; Vladimirskaya, Russia; Western Cape, South Africa; Chisinau, Moldova; Beaufort en Santerre, France; Ashanti, Ghana; Wroclaw, Poland; Hebei, China; Durham, England; Killarney, Ireland; and many more. Further information is also available through Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org ). Tel: 202-347-8630 Fax: 202-393-6524 or info@sister-cities.org
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