The Outreach to Educators Task Force
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AFS-USA Commits to Building Better School Relations
As reflected in its Business Plan, AFS-USA is committed to strengthening its profile in the educational community and aligning its profile with the interests of schools with particular regard to the Global Competencies recently endorsed by the National Education Association. http://www.nea.org/tools/30402.htm
Investments at AFS-USA have been made to facilitate new initiatives intended to enhance AFS’s profile with educators as well as our volunteers’ ability to foster stronger School Relations. The long term goal is to ensure a stronger foundation of our school relationships to expand the program.
A year and a half ago, in response to volunteers’ requests for greater focus on school relationships, AFS-USA set up the Outreach to Educators Task Force (OETF), comprised of volunteers with school experience and staff members with relevant positions. As effective school outreach is critical to our organization, OETF has been working on many projects focused on improving our alignment and profile with schools and developing new tools to assist volunteers.
We have a variety of strategic initiatives underway: The importance of mobilizing the volunteer network to reach out to schools was a key topic of discussion at the April 2011 National Volunteer Assembly in St. Louis. We are planning for our key national volunteer training event slated for October 2011, to have a strong emphasis on strategic outreach with educators. Schools will have a critically important new connection to staff in the pilot new staffing structure. Staff assigned to work with one specific team will have “development of school relationships” as a key “responsibility”. Volunteer Development was not previously as closely linked to “School Relations” but going forward it will be more closely linked.
There are a growing number of states and school districts officially supporting the value of global competency in curriculum. This is where AFS must be at the forefront. AFS needs to establish more educational partnerships with schools and now we have new resources to help position ourselves more effectively.
If volunteers have copies of district or state policy concerning international education, and if you have a copy of your school, district or state policy for hosting and sending exchange students, could you please send a copies to User:THofmann. Thank you!
Goals for 2012
Strategic Goals
- Continue efforts underway through the work of the Outreach to Educators Task force to strengthen AFS’s profile in the educational community and align its profile with the interests of schools with particular regard to the Global Competency in education.
- Accelerate efforts to integrate school outreach initiatives more effectively among staff/departments working on hosting, sending, marketing and new product development; ensure it is an operational priority in 2012.
- Through ongoing digital training and communications with volunteers, consistently deliver a message throughout 2012 that encourages volunteer outreach to educators at the local level, as well as communication initiatives at the national level, to achieve a stronger foundation of AFS-School relationships. This would have to be achieved through e-learning or other digital based training offerings as the 2012 budget does not allow for in-person volunteer training.
- Request of the NVA planning committee that an educational session be dedicated to school outreach.
- Strategically target the growing number of states and school districts officially supporting the value of global competency in curriculum in our outreach efforts. AFS needs to establish more educational partnerships with schools and now we have new resources to help position ourselves more effectively.
- Work closely with the New Product Development unit to expand new program offerings to meet school needs and interests. Continue to replicate the pilot recruiter chaperone program that is teacher led, in more countries.
- Provide information and relevant resources to volunteers focused on educating them to be more confidently positioned to address growing competition of F1 visa students taking spots in schools. Re-engage schools breaking away from AFS and other J1 visa organizations.
- Strengthen AFS’s awareness of the trends involving global competency in education at the federal and state level, create communication channels to inform volunteers about these trends. Develop expertise among volunteers to help form and/or influence policy where possible.
Action Goals
- Identify a maximum of three winners for the Intercultural Educator Award 2012, and mobilize a communications strategy on enhancing the award’s profile and awareness, both in AFS-USA and externally.
- Enhance the content and expand the distribution network of the Global Classroom e-newsletter.
- Pursue a data-based evaluative project, focused on the educational impact of international exchange with a partner organization, a possibility to pursue is the University of California at San Diego where we have a solid contact/returnee. The research project’s implementation would be dependent on obtaining funding from external sources.
- Offer to volunteer teams the opportunity to host approximately five forums for educators on Intercultural Education and Global Competency, in targeted areas of the country where potential or volunteer incentives can be provided.
- Increase the number of schools AFS is in by 100 schools by 2013. Reduce the imbalance of sending vs hosting exclusivity in schools. This expansion strategy for schools includes both the priority of having more schools both host & send, and to bring new schools into AFS. The increase in the number of schools is defined as schools where AFS has not had a presence in at least 3 years. Efforts should be taken to also increase the number of schools that host and send annually, as opposed to biannual participation.
- Develop another (2 currently are available to volunteers) e-learning module for the School Relationships Course, content will be on school presentations (this is in-progress already).
- Create digital based and easily accessible resources for educators on intercultural learning, the priority being an upgrade of “It’s Your World” in terms of relevant content to educators today, and format and branding. The goal is to create 2-3 new tools in 2012. It is recommended that this be accomplished through implementation by the New Product Development Unit, with ongoing from OETF will be necessary.
- Showcase AFS USA at 2-3 high profile national “Educational” conferences or events in 2011 as a means to raise AFS’s profile. This is to be defined as more than “in attendance” and via submission of papers, requests to speak or run sessions, etc.
- Engage more educators in our program work, involve educational advisors in our strategy and volunteer gatherings (strengthen the profile of the Outreach to Educators Task Force).
- Tailor a communications message and outreach strategy to guidance counselors (linked to the data analysis project). Suggest we move that to considering for 2013, as getting a research project of the ground in 2012 is the priority.
- More comprehensively assess college and university level perspective on intercultural experience and integrate these findings into communications’ messaging to educators.
- Work with volunteers to better utilize Global Link to populate a more knowledgeable school database and upgrade data integrity; school contacts, deadlines, etc.
Some activities of The Outreach to Educators Task Force include:
- Launch of the Intercultural Educator Award
- Work with Volunteer Development to create e-learning modules with Volunteer Development Trainers for outreach to schools. https://usa.afsglobal.org/course/SchoolRelationships
- Create promotional materials with the Marketing team (hard copy and digital) for schools, including the Educator Packet. New materials for schools were developed this past year, in direct response to the needs stated by volunteers at conferences and through surveys. Our new Education Packet includes a copy of:
- A Certificate of Appreciation, designed for current hosting schools, Certificate_of_Appreciation.
- An FAQ Hosting piece – answers to frequently asked questions by schools
- The new AFS and Schools Partnering brochure - how schools can benefit from AFS
- For sending, the new Transform the Norm Study Abroad - for American parents and potential students
- The College Advantage - for guidance counselors and parents
- ‘Global Classroom,’ the new AFS e-newsletter for Educators flyer.
- A Recruiter-Chaperone Program Flyer – for teacher led, group, short programs
- To enhance the integrity of our school data, the Global Link team has now included the ETS number in the school records purchased this year in Global Link, with the objective being to streamline data and avoid duplicate records.
- Online training webinars for working with schools to promote sending programs are available to any interested volunteer. Online trainings are available at this link on the WIKI: RSVP for Sending Training and Volunteer Calls
- Work with the Communications team to align the content of our digital newsletter to educators, with their interests
- Gain a stronger understanding of the trends in global education at the federal and state level, create communication channels to inform volunteers about these trends.
- Improve outreach to and involve more Charter schools for sending and hosting.
- Private:Results of the School Outreach Survey with AFS-USA Volunteers.
- School outreach mailing from OETF in May 2011.
Members of the Outreach to Educators Task Force
- Hanna Lee Betz - Volunteer
- Marlene Baker - Staff
- Liz Bauer - Volunteer
- Jenny Davis - Staff
- Keri Dooley - Staff
- Tara Hofmann - Staff, staff liaison to OETF (Thofmann@afs.org)
- Ann Kaufmann - volunteer
- Mary Ann Offer - Volunteer
- Tonya Muro Phillips - Staff
- Al Russell - National Council, Board, Volunteer
- Mike Wagenveld - Volunteer
- Floyd Van Weelden - Staff
- Jill Woerner - Volunteer
- Sarah Yancey - Volunteer
Resources
- Differences between foreign (F-1) and exchange (J-1) students - many educators may not realize that there are distinct differences between students who have these different types of visas.
- Educator Packet
- Draft school policy
- Teacher conference
