A Day in the Life

Since 1992, the Foundation has donated more than $32 million to over 100 schools and communities around the world that foster the education of young people—from a primary school in Turkey, to a Buddhist university in Thailand. Now, as part of a new program called A Day in the Life, travelers on OAT adventures will visit not only Foundation-supported school sites but also the larger communities in which the students live—meeting with parents, neighbors, civic leaders, and small business owners, and engaging in authentic cultural exchange. Our goal is two-fold: to provide our travelers with a richer experience, and to give back to the world we travel.

Principal Program

Establishing relationships with the schools we support and identifying their needs is a key focus of the World Classroom Initiative. The way we do this is by investing in the educators at our World Classroom sites in order to better support their leadership goals. That's why we invited school principals from four different continents to travel to the United States in order to participate in a program that honored their leadership and challenged them to continue leading and learning. The four principals represented four different countries and continents: Costa Rica, Thailand. Tanzania, and Croatia. The four principals shared best practices on parent engagement, discussed project proposals, and experienced the educational and cultural life of Boston. The program impressed upon us how central a school is to a community, how principals are valued as community leaders, and what an impact we collectively can have on these communities.

Teacher Exchange

The World Classroom also sponsored an international Teacher Exchange. In February 2007, teachers from the Boston Public School system traveled to Costa Rica for professional development, cultural and language learning, home stays, and active excursions to some of Costa Rica’s most beautiful natural sites. Grand Circle Foundation reciprocated in July, hosting Costa Rican teachers in Boston. This portion of the initiative featured a variety of environmental education and creativity workshops, as well as visits to some of the Foundation’s community-based partners. The goal of both the Principal Program and the Teacher Exchange was to provide leadership opportunities, to expand the world view of educators, and challenge them to bring that vision back into the classroom.

Bridging Cultural Understanding

Our twenty elementary school teachers hailed from Costa Rica's Alajuela region and Boston, and spent ten days together in each of their respective countries. Staying with local families, they shared best practices, underwent training, and built school-to-school connections. Besides the environmental focus, the program had a language and literacy component: some 30% of Boston Public School students are from Hispanic backgrounds, and the exchange helped to further the Boston teachers' understanding of Latin culture and languages. Costa Rica enjoys a 96% literacy rate, and the exchange helped promote students' English language skills.

"This was an exciting opportunity to bridge cultural understanding through the common language of education and caring for young people. I believe we can make connections and transform the world ... one person and one family at a time," said Jodi Innerfield, a Boston Public School teacher who participated in the Exchange. Returning to their communities with new inspiration, ideas and understanding, our teachers will have a much greater potential to change the lives of everyone they touch.