School Relations

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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. [1]

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.


Contents

Results and Resources from the OEC, Outreach To Education Conference Oct 2011, Kansas City

On October 21-23, 2011, close to 140 volunteers and staff joined together in Kansas City for the Outreach to Education conference. The Kansas City volunteers did a great job in hosting the conference, and showcasing not only their beautiful city but also the strength of the volunteer team there. Some of the comments reflected in volunteer evaluations were….

  • "One of the most productive AFS conferences I've attended. Very direct and to the point-Thank you. "
  • “ I am leaving with so many ideas to bring to my area team.”
  • “I have a concise list of issues, strategies to solve those issues and toolbox of offerings to reach out to my team and to other schools.”
  • "Good Work! Content was best I've ever had at an AFS conference "
  • "Very beneficial . Great concrete ideas and suggestions . Well rounded presentations with educators’ perspectives"
  • "I am inspired."
  • "It was my first conference and I found it very helpful and inspiring”
  • "Great to have the Educators panel "

The Outreach to Education Conference provided volunteers the opportunity to develop a more comprehensive approach to collaborating with schools on issues relating to global understanding. Hosting, sending, and curriculum enrichment opportunities were integrated through the conference content. The main goal was to help volunteers position our local presence in a more strategic way to better align our program offerings to schools' needs, prepare us for growth and deliver our hosting and sending programs more effectively.

The feedback in the evaluations and by the organizing committee was very positive. Volunteers reflected that they left the conference motivated and better prepared to work with schools. The organizing committee recognizes that this was the first step of many that AFS-USA needs to take to improve our relationship with schools.

More specifically, content focused on developing a stronger awareness of policies at the school, district and state level. Volunteers worked to identify actions to overcome not only the policies but perceptions that many educators have. Minna Smith, AFS 2011 USA Galatti Award nominee, provided great inspiration with her personal story of the foundation she and other Milwaukee area volunteers set up and run, thereby providing scholarships to needy American students who want to go abroad with AFS.

A major strategic change was the involvement of a number of external speakers. Lynn Anderson, returnee USAYPGER and current Dean of International Education at the University of California at San Diego, gave a very motivating and relevant key-note address about the value of international exchange as viewed by higher education. She encouraged AFS volunteers, among other things, to tell our success stories and to validate our impact with better data. A panel of educators from around the country also provided insight into the variety of challenges we face related to expanding our sending and hosting programs, but also in terms of developing solid relationships with educators. Volunteers reflected in their evaluations that they very much appreciated an external perspective and presence at the conference.

A variety of optional sessions were offered on returnee and host student integration into school outreach, branding, school clubs, and trends AFS is encountering with F1 programs growing in many school districts. A key outcome was that volunteers developed their own personal action plan for school outreach. Ongoing webinars are being offered in November and December as a means of support and guidance to attendees, and to keep momentum around school outreach moving.


Resources and presentations from the Outreach to Education conference are listed below.

  • "AFS Ambassadors" Video [2]

School Presentation Tools and Resources

School Relations Tools and Resources

School Relations Best Practices

School Relations Training Resources

School Relationships Online Learning Module

In the Global Link Online Learning Center, there is an online learning module for volunteers and staff, entitled "School Relationships." Completing of this module will introduce you to some best practices for developing long-lasting relationships with school officials, so as to support AFS Hosting and Sending program activity.

To access this module, click this link [5], or log-in to your Global Link account and click the "Resources" tab in order to access the AFS-USA Online Learning Center.


  • Upcoming Webinars: Follow-up from the Outreach to Educators Conference
  1. AFS Branding Session: Tuesday January 24th, 2012 5:00-6:00 PST
  2. Integrating Returnees and Hosted Students into School Relations: Thursday January 26th, 2012 5:00-6:00 PST


In addition, there are periodic online training webinars for working with schools to promote sending programs, as well as a number of other topics. These webinars are open to any interested volunteer. More information can be found on the RSVP for Sending Training and Volunteer Calls page.


See Also

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February 7 2012
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