Working With Youth and Teachers Visiting America
From the December 10 issue of K-12Leads and Youth Service Markets Report.
Their Description:
The Office of Citizen Exchanges, Youth Programs Division, of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for the Youth Leadership and Teacher Professional Development Program with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) may submit proposals to conduct a three- to four-week program in the United States focusing on leadership and civic education. The 21 participants will be secondary school students and teachers from Bosnia and Herzegovina....
The Youth Leadership Program for Bosnia and Herzegovina has been implemented annually since 1999 by a partnership of the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) in the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo and the U.S. grantee organization.... A successful project will be one that nurtures a cadre of students and teachers to be actively engaged in addressing issues of concern in their schools and communities upon their return home and are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to become citizen activists....
Multiple opportunities for participants to interact with American youth and educators must be included.... The applicant should present a program plan that allows the participants to thoroughly explore civic education in the United States in a creative, memorable, and practical way. Activities should be designed to be replicable and provide practical knowledge and skills that the participants can apply to school and civic activities at home.
Applicants should outline their project team’s capacity for doing projects of this nature, focusing on three areas of competency: (1) provision of leadership and civic education programming, (2) age-appropriate programming for youth, and (3) work with individuals from Bosnia-Herzegovina or other areas of Southeast Europe. Applicants need not have a partner in Bosnia and Herzegovina....
The participants will be 18 high school students between the ages of 15 and 18 who have demonstrated leadership abilities in their schools and/or communities, and three high school teachers who have demonstrated an interest in youth leadership and are expected to remain in positions where they can continue to work with youth. Participants will be proficient in the English language.
[T]he program... will include the following:
-- Program preparation sessions at the pre-departure orientation in Sarajevo.
-- A welcome orientation.
-- Design and planning of activities that provide a substantive program on civic education and leadership through both academic and extracurricular components. Activities should take place in schools and in the community. Community service must also be included. It is crucial that programming involve American participants wherever possible.
-- Opportunities for the educators to work with their American peers....
-- Logistical arrangements...
-- A closing session to summarize the project’s activities and prepare participants for their return home.
-- Follow-on activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina...
My Thoughts: Why this should be restricted to non-profits is not obvious. EIA make note.
Regardless, for the school improvement provider seeking international work, this seems like an ideal first step.
Moreover, these aren’t the only students or teachers coming to the United States under State Department sponsorship. There might be a business in its own right, right here.
