Global Education Massachusetts Winners Plan International Projects

With support from the Longview Foundation, Primary Source and Global Education Massachusetts (GEM) have awarded grants to the Boston, Amherst-Pelham, and Masconomet school districts. The winning districts were recognized for their proposals to integrate global perspectives and 21st century skills into school curricula, including Boston's plan to improve student achievement through internationally themed writing projects, a new African studies program in Amherst-Pelham, and a global education diploma in Masconomet.

The three award recipients, each of whom will be provided with a $1500 grant, were chosen from more than 30 Massachusetts district and school applicants and reflect diverse strategies for increasing students' global knowledge. The Boston Public Schools proposal, developed by Humanities Director Matthew Holzer and Social Studies Program Director Robby Chisholm, will fund the development of model college preparatory writing assignments that integrate international topics. Teachers and curriculum coordinators will collaborate to create writing assignments and rubrics to be distributed to all thirty-six Boston high schools.

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol R. Johnson noted that the grant would support the district's renewed focus on student writing and literacy, with teachers from history and humanities classrooms collaborating to develop common writing assignments and support materials.

"We are honored to be selected for this prestigious grant," said Dr. Johnson. "In a world that demands 21st century skills and global literacy, our students will benefit greatly from this opportunity. The GEM grant will help deepen our already strong commitment to global education, content-area literacy, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Above all, these funds help us move closer to our goals of closing the achievement gap and ensuring all students graduate college-ready and success-bound."

Momodou Sarr and Oumy Cisse of the Amherst Pelham Regional School District will lead the creation of an African studies program. The educators plan to introduce a high school Africa studies course in 2009-2010 and develop an exchange program with students in West Africa, in support of the district's goal of increasing awareness and tolerance for racial and ethnic diversity. Teachers Sarr and Cisse hope that "the comparative study of culture, institutions, and knowledge production will expand students' global awareness and prepare students to become active participants in an interconnected world."

The Masconomet Public Schools will use the GEM grant to develop a global education diploma that will be available beginning with the class of 2013. "In an increasingly interdependent world, one with unique and daunting challenges requiring unprecedented collaboration across boundaries, we need to provide our students with knowledge about, and understanding of other countries, their cultures, and their languages," said Masconomet Superintendent Claire Sheff-Kohn. "This grant will enable us to build upon, and expand significantly what we already do to increase our students' global awareness."

Patricia Puglisi, co-chair of Masconomet's global education committee and head of Masconomet Regional High School's social studies department, echoed Superintendent Sheff-Kohn's sentiments. "The global education diploma will provide an opportunity for our students to truly develop 21st century skills. Students will enhance their knowledge in the fields of financial, technological, ethical and cultural literacy. They will be well-rounded students prepared to compete in today's global society."

Primary Source and Global Education Massachusetts wish to thank all of the grant applicants for their thoughtful proposals, and the Longview Foundation for support of this project.