The Center for International Understanding

It’s the Teachers

scaplan — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:57:42 +0000

Burroughs Wellcome Fund President John Burris has a wonderful editorial in the most recent issue of Science Magazine. Key to school improvement, he writes, is a commitment to value and trust teachers, the most important part of any education system.

We were honored to have Dr. Burris among our distinguished delegation of North Carolina education policy leaders who traveled to Helsinki with us last fall on our Learning from Finland program.

To read the full article, click here.

Great Turnout in Duplin County

scaplan — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:55:01 +0000

What a successful outreach meeting in Duplin County yesterday! We are recruiting health and policy leaders for our upcoming Latino Initiative program and nearly 20 interested people joined us to learn more at James Sprunt Community College in Kenansville. Not only are they ready to send their fourth team on our Mexico study program, but they were eager to share the impact that the Latino Initiative has already had in their community.

Here are couple of examples:

- Duplin General Hospital has employed a bi-lingual receptionist to greet patients in their native language — English or Spanish

- El Centro Latino de Duplin, created to provide outreach services to the growing Latino community, has identified emerging Latino leaders who have helped assess community challenges and shape solutions

Our 2012 Latino Initiative for Health and Policy Leaders will build on the great work being done in Duplin County and other communities throughout our state. For more information on the 2012 program, click here

A Good Education for Every Child: Finland’s goal

scaplan — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:22:52 +0000

Education scholar Pasi Sahlberg, whom we met on our “Learning from Finland” program in fall of 2011, tells The Atlantic what is at the heart of Finland’s educational success: “Finland’s dream was that we want to have a good public education for every child regardless of where they go to school or what kind of families they come from.”

To read ”What Americans Keep Ignoring about Finland’s School Success,” click here.

Higher Education Lessons from Abroad

scaplan — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:35:47 +0000

Columbia University’s The Hechinger Report is focusing on international education and provides a fascinating look at higher education abroad and what lessons we in the United States might learn. How do we better connect university education to local economic development needs? How do we better prepare students for their first year of college? Are they ways to better integrate technical education practice with theory?

To access the series and read about how other countries are tackling these challenges, click here.

Recruitment Underway for Latino Health Coalition 2012 Program

scaplan — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:15:38 +0000

Recruitment is underway for health care and policy leaders interested in taking an intensive look at health, social work and outreach programs in Mexico. Our Latino Initiative for Health Care program will travel to Puebla, Mexico in fall 2012.

For an informational flyer, click here.

NC Teachers Launch International School Partnerships with China

scaplan — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:51:01 +0000

Thirty-eight North Carolina educators have returned from a unique international school partnership program in China. Representatives of 14 schools traveled with us to Beijing and Jiangsu Province to learn about Chinese culture, history, and education systems, and to meet with their Chinese partner schools. North Carolinians had opportunities to learn about ancient China through visits to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, as well as modern China through visits to Suzhou Industrial Park and Shanghai.

Teachers and administrators spent three days in their new partnership schools in Jiangsu Province. The North Carolina delegates met with their partner principals and teachers, discussed goals and activities for their partnership, and visited classrooms to see Chinese education in action. In some cases, principals signed memoranda of understanding that generally described each school’s hopes for their future educational partnerships.

This program in China comes on the heels of a Jiangsu Province delegation to North Carolina, during which 21 principals and other education leaders came to North Carolina to meet with partnership principals.

To learn more about the Jiangsu delegation’s visit to North Carolina, click here.

The Chinese Bridge program was co-coordinated by Hanban and the College Board, who led the national Chinese Bridge Delegation, and the Center for International Understanding, which led North Carolina’s participation in the program. Schools in North Carolina are all part of the Center’s Confucius Classrooms program.

There are now 25 schools Classrooms in North Carolina as part of our Confucius Classroom network. To learn more about the Center for International Understanding’s Confucius Classrooms, click here.

“Prevention” not “Intervention” is Hallmark of Finnish Education

scaplan — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:18:35 +0000

We are pleased to announce a new publication: “Learning from Finland.” Author John Dornan captures ten recommendations for improving North Carolina schools, based on the observations and experiences of our delegation that traveled to Finland this past fall.

Check out the full report here.

This report is the 11th in a series examining international best practices in education. The Center for International Understanding, together with the NC Public School Forum, has led these groups of policymakers with generous support from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and other North Carolina-based supporters.

Welcome, Adam Hartzell

scaplan — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:31:55 +0000

We are pleased to welcome Adam Hartzell, our new executive director! An attorney and former executive director of InterAct, Adam will begin leading the Center for International Understanding on January 9, 2012.

To read the official announcement from UNC President Tom Ross, click here.

Leading Senator says NC and China Economies are Entertwined

scaplan — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:07:32 +0000

Sen. Pete Brunstetter has written a thoughtful news article about our program in China last month. His conclusion: “In the end, although there are still many questions that I have about our relationship with China, I came away impressed that the economies of China and North Carolina are intertwined. There are great opportunities for North Carolina businesses in China. China’s success economically can mean more jobs and opportunities for North Carolinians, and vice versa.”

Check out the full article here.

International Students Contribute $304 Million Annually to NC Economy

scaplan — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:52:34 +0000

The annual Open Doors survey is out and shows a 5% increase in the number of international students studying in North Carolina colleges and universities this year compared to last year. The Institute for International Education estimates these students are contributing $304 million annually to our state’s economy.

NC State University enrolls more international students than any other campus in the state — 3,235 students. Overall, for North Carolina, like the nation, China sends more students to study here than any other country. About 22% of international students enrolled in North Carolina are from China; 20% are from India; and 8% are from South Korea.

For a North Carolina fact sheet with enrollment and economic impact data, click here. For more information about the national report, click here.