Patrick Alvaro Diaz receives an AP® Recognition Award.

Alvaro Diaz, an AP® Spanish Literature teacher and the department chair for Spanish at the Karl C. Parrish School, a binational, bilingual school in Barranquilla, Colombia, attended the 2009 Middle States Regional Forum to receive his AP Recognition Award.

Diaz was nominated by his Karl C. Parrish principal, Patrick Gaffney, who said of him, “… Rarely do you as an administrator have the opportunity to come across a person as dedicated to his profession, subject and students as Alvaro. … His pass rates are the best in the school year after year and his expectations are nothing less than the best from every student.”

Diaz is a leader among the faculty, and he is respected by the teachers for his willingness to help others and serve as a leader and mentor for less experienced AP teachers. Diaz has traveled to the United States to pursue his professional development goals. He is knowledgeable about both the Colombian and American educational systems, and he ensures that his colleagues and students have the resources they need. His program helps prepare students to continue their studies at colleges and universities in the United States, Colombia and the rest of the world. Diaz uses local, national and international textual sources to engage his students. He also provides students with hands-on experience through field trips. Gaffney added, “I have had the pleasure to watch him instill a spirit and fire in his students for Spanish Literature … he is an asset and inspiration.”

The Advanced Placement Program® is recognized as a standard of educational excellence around the world. The Middle States Regional Office is pleased to recognize teachers who have provided outstanding service and leadership in the program.

The Bologna Process: The Changing Face of Higher Education in Europe and the European Region

Meeting on the final afternoon of the 2009 Middle States Regional Forum, an international panel of experts discussed changes in higher education in Europe and the European Region.

Since the initial signing of the Bologna Declaration in June 1999, the nations involved in the European Higher Education Area have been engaged in a process of reforming their postsecondary education systems in an effort to achieve transparency and comparability of European degrees.  A key feature of the Bologna Process — and of greatest interest to institutions in the United States — is the redesign of courses of study, with a typical model of a three-year bachelor´s degree plus a one- to two-year master´s degree, capped by a “third-cycle” terminal degree. By 2012, the 46 participating European countries are expected to have implemented changes in university curricula and adopted the European Credit Transfer System based on student learning outcomes, which would facilitate student mobility.

A panel consisting of a representative of the French government and two senior international educators presented the background and context for the Bologna Declaration and Bologna Process (Timothy S. Thompson, associate director at the European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh); a case study of how the process is being implemented in France (Christian Joly, cultural attaché at the Embassy of France); and their views on the significance of Bologna for U.S. colleges and universities (Valerie Woolston, director of International Education Services at the University of Maryland College Park). Because of the changes at European institutions, U.S institutions will have to examine and resolve issues such as how an academic record from a European institution should be evaluated, how courses transfer, whether European students will still have time to study abroad, and how U.S. undergraduate students will be placed at European institutions.

The session was attended by U.S. university educators who were primarily interested in how the new degree structure will affect admission to U.S. institutions. Also in attendance were high school guidance counselors and administrators interested in opportunities for their students to pursue higher education at European institutions.

Panelists provided useful Web sites and resources for educators and institutions.

·  Bologna Secretariat http://ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna
·  European Network of Information Centres in the European Region/National Academic Recognition Information Centres in the European Union: http://www.enic-naric.net

Information for students who want to study in Europe:
http://ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna/links/index.htm

A general overview of the Bologna Process and background materials designed for the U.S. audience may be found at www.nafsa.org/bologna.

Visiting Teachers from China Address Forums

Zhengzhong Jia, who teaches at Catholic Memorial School, West Roxbury, Mass., is visiting the United States as part of the Chinese Guest Teacher Program.

At each regional forum, keynote speaker Da Chen was joined by a representative of the 2009 Chinese Guest Teacher Program, a partnership of the College Board, the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages and the Office of Chinese Language Council International, also known as Hanban. Each representative is a guest teacher from China visiting a school or district for one to three years to teach Chinese language and culture and help start or build a Chinese program.

The teachers addressed the audience and shared their experiences in the classroom and as new visitors to the United States. In the Southwest, Yu Mao is teaching at Duncan Public Schools in Duncan, Okla. In the Midwest, Junli Wei is visiting the Urbana Public Schools in Urbana, Ill. Chong Feng is a guest teacher at the Indiana Area School District in Indiana, Pa., and addressed the Middle States Regional Forum. In the Southern Region, Lei Liang, who is teaching at the Richmond County School System in Augusta, Ga., was the speaker. In the West, Yanxia Xu is at the Hulstrom Options K-8 School in Northglenn, Colo., and in New England, Zhengzhong Jia is teaching at Catholic Memorial School in West Roxbury, Mass.

Zhengzhong Jia, who is an English teacher from southwest China, said it was a great honor to be chosen for the program, and is building a sister relationship with his school back home. He teaches his American students not only language and literature, but also calligraphy and Chinese culture. “I am trying to teach the children what China is really like. For the Chinese New Year, I cooked Chinese food with 50 students and staff members. It was quite trying, but when I found out that students went home and tried to cook Chinese food for their family members, it made me very happy.” He shared some of his favorite new experiences as a visitor to the Boston area, including an invitation to a Boston College football game in the pouring rain (he said he had never witnessed people going so crazy over a game) and bike rides along the beautiful Charles River. He said that some of his American colleagues have asked him if it was hard for him to leave his family for this time. “It is hard,” he said, “but this experience has truly opened my eyes and widened my horizon.”

The deadline to apply to host a guest teacher in your school or district has been extended to March 20, 2009. Guest teachers will arrive in August 2009 and teach for a period of one to three years. Click here to learn more and apply.

For schools or districts interested in building or starting a Chinese program, the College Board’s other Chinese language and culture initiatives can also help. School and district leaders are invited to apply for the 2009 Chinese Bridge Delegation trip to China, which takes place June 22-June 30, 2009. On this tour, educators learn about the country, its culture and its education system. They visit schools and cultural sites, build ties with Chinese and U.S. educators, and gather ideas for starting a Chinese language program.

The College Board, Asia Society and Chicago Public Schools invite all interested educators to attend the 2009 National Chinese Language Conference in Chicago April 30-May 2, 2009. The conference is dedicated to promoting Chinese language and culture education and global competencies for U.S. students.

Learn more about Chinese language and culture initiatives at www.collegeboard.com/k12chinese.

Click here to see events and workshops in the International region.