The Kansas Committee for International Education in the Schools (KCIES) is a statewide group of policymakers, educators, representatives of the business community, and other interested individuals.  KCIES has promoted the infusion of international content into the K-12 curriculum, raised public awareness of the need for international education, and offered resources for teachers, students, parents and communities since 2003.

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Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning Conference

The Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning is a national network of K-12 educators and policymakers dedicated to sharing best practices and advancing public policy to integrate global knowledge and skills within the mainstream of American education. The Partnership's annual conference, "Putting the World into World-Class Education" will take place in Arlington, Virginia from July 9-11, 2009. To learn more about the Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning and the Forum, please visit www.asiasociety.org/forum. For a printable pdf about the Forum, click here.

The Kansas Task Force on International Education Formed
Americans increasingly recognize global interdependence as one of the most important developments of the twenty-first century. With one in five jobs tied to trade beyond our borders, the need to train more American students in international education is immediate and pressing. Today, the number of students doing this nationwide is minuscule, and in Kansas even smaller. How to meet the urgent need for more knowledge of other world regions, cultures, languages, and global issues—the components of international education—is a challenge being discussed by educational leaders across the United States.

Realizing the significance of global literacy to the future prosperity and security of our youth, our nation, and our state, the Kansas Committee for International Education in the Schools is convening a statewide Kansas Task Force on International Education. The members of the Task Force will survey the current state of international education in Kansas elementary and secondary schools, evaluate future needs and priorities in such training, and make specific recommendations for high-priority initiatives. The Task Force's report, which will be presented to the Governor, legislators, and educational policymakers, will stimulate and accelerate the statewide discussions on the importance of international education in Kansas schools and initiatives to support it.

The Kansas Task Force on International Education will meet in fall 2008 to plan a statewide survey and complete their final report in the fall 2009. The members of the Task Force will represent educational institutions at all levels, government agencies, professional organizations, and businesses concerned with international affairs and the teaching of world languages. The members include:

Donna Reynolds, Chairperson, Abilene Sister City Board, Abilene, KS
Betsy Degen, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Shawnee Mission School District
Paul Faber, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences, Fort Hays State University
Phyllis Farrar, Executive Committee, KCIES and World Languages/ESOL Program Consultant, Kansas State Department of Education
Jan Heinen, Executive Committee, KCIES and Director of Middle Level Education
Olathe Schools
Nancy Hope, Executive Committee, KCIES and Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
Marjorie Landwher-Brown, Director of Global Learning, Douglass Public Schools
Karyn Page, President and CEO, Kansas World Trade Center
Mary Pyle, Board Member, KCIES and Managing Director of World Trade Center, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
Glyn Rimmington, Task Force Chair, Boeing Distinguished Professor of Global Learning, Wichita State University
Robert Riordan, Black & Veatch (retired)
J. Richard Schrock, Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences, Emporia State University
Alice Sagehorn, Professor of Education, Pittsburg State University
Carol Swinney, Distance Learning Consultant, Southwest Plains Service Center
Chuck Thorpe, President, Kansas World Language Association and SVS Instructor, Kansas State University
William Tsutsui, Executive Committee, KCIES and Associate Dean for International Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Lynn Vasquez, Executive Committee, KCIES and Social Studies Program Consultant, Kansas State Department of Education
Tom Vontz, Assistant Professor of Elementary Education, Kansas State University and President, Kansas Council for the Social Studies
Debra Wenzel, Family and Consumer Science Program Consultant, Kansas State Department of Education
Sheree Willis, Executive Director, Confucius Institute, University of Kansas
Baili Zhang, Director of International Programs, Washburn University

The state-wide survey of Kansas school district administrators and of parents, business people, teachers and other Kansans was completed during the spring 2009 semester.  The report of the Task Force will be issued next fall. 

For more information on the Kansas Task Force on International Education, please contact Nancy Hope, (785) 864-3918, nfhope@ku.edu.

New Video on Global Education

Asia Society and the George Lucas Educational Foundation are pleased to release A World-Class Education: Volume 2. This DVD, the second in the series, features Thomas Friedman in an updated film on the importance of international knowledge and skills in the 21st century. The film outlines steps that schools, communities and policy makers can take and is a useful communications tool. Short films highlight exceptional school models in action:

 

  • Success Spoken Here: John Stanford International School (A Seattle elementary language immersion school).

  • The Global Dimension: Walter Payton College Prep High School (An inner-city Chicago high school featuring exchanges and distance learning)

  • A Night in the Global Village: Heifer Ranch (Students experience conditions in developing countries firsthand)

  • Learning Without Borders: International School of the Americas (A Texas high school that integrates international content throughout the curriculum)

For more information or to order, click here.

To find out about the latest international education news, resources, and grant opportunities, subscribe to the International Education in the Schools monthly newsletter, click here

The Fastest Pig in the West
The Fastest Pig in the West

KCIES is proud to announce the publication of The Fastest Pig in the West, its first chapter book aimed at 3rd – 5th graders. It is the story of Jimmy Lin, a boy whose family came from China to a small town in Kansas called Buffalo Grove. The book alternates between the fictional story of Jimmy and his adjustment to life in small town America and factual chapters that will acquaint readers with Chinese history, culture and tradition.

This fall, each elementary school in Kansas will receive a complementary copy of this book. To get a taste of what the book is like, click on Publications and check out the preview.

To access the on-line teachers' guide click here or click on Educational Materials and select The Fastest Pig Teachers' Guide from the drop down menu.

We hope you enjoy the story of Jimmy Lin and find it useful in introducing your students to the fascinating Chinese culture.