Home     

Two Kansas Schools Win Prize for International Education

The 2006 Kansas in the World Award for Excellence in International Education was presented to the Center for International Studies at South High School in Shawnee Mission and to Southwest Junior High School in Lawrence, Kansas. The $1000 award is presented annually by the Kansas Committee for International Education in the Schools (KCIES) to one high school and one middle or elementary school in Kansas, that has demonstrated a strong commitment to international education by incorporating international content into a variety of subject areas, offering foreign language study and supporting professional development of teachers.

Shawnee Mission’s Center for International Studies at South High School has long been a leader among Kansas high schools in internationalizing its curriculum. The Center offers classes in international business and communication and in several foreign languages including Japanese, Arabic and Chinese. It even has the only certified Chinese teacher at the secondary level in the state, and recently established an exchange program with a Chinese high school in Kaifeng, a city in Kansas’s sister province of Henan. Nine Shawnee Mission students and two teachers spent two weeks in China this spring.

Lawrence’s Southwest Junior High, under the guidance of principal Trish Bransky, has also had an exemplary international education program for some time. The school offers classes that help introduce students in grades 7 through 9 to several different world areas including Asia and the Middle East. It also uses core subjects-English, math, social studies, science-together to teach a topic. To Bransky, the best lesson is one that will serve students in years ahead.

“If you find something that’s totally awesome about a culture,” she says, “you’ll be far more open to other parts of that culture. You’ll be far less likely to pass judgment on them.”

The award which consisted of a plaque and a check for $1000, was presented to representatives of both schools during the Kansas State Department of Education Conference in April by Nancy Hope, KCIES Executive Board Member, along with Dr. Glyn Rimmington, Boeing Distinguished Professor of Global Studies at Wichita State University. In her remarks, Hope reminded conference attendees that most Americans say that students need to know more about the rest of the world and that Kansas is no exception.

“More than 6.7 billion dollars of our state’s exports reached world markets last year,” says Hope. “In order to be successful in the 21st century, our students need to know about many lands and many cultures.”

All schools in Kansas are eligible for the Kansas in the World Award for Excellence in International Education . Schools interested in applying for the 2007 award are encouraged to check the KCIES website (www.kansasintheworld.org) for details in the fall.