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Promoting International Education and Exchange

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to introduce Global Indiana: A Consortium for International Exchange. GI resulted

from a series of meetings of a group of educators interested in expanding Indiana students globalperspectives. Originally dedicated to establishing sister schools in China, GI is now working with

Germany and Thailand as well. Global Indiana is incorporated and has been designated a 501 (c) (3)

not-for-profit organization. Donations to Global Indiana are tax deductible.

GI was initiated by Chris McGrew while he was the Indiana Department of Education Social Studies

Consultant. The first meeting was held in February of 2005, and irregular, informal meetings were

held throughout 2006. The Board of Directors was formed in early 2007, and the organization

became incorporated in May of 2008.

Global Indiana was formed with the following among its many missions

Partner with world languages, social studies and other teachers interested in international education

Create grant proposals to obtain funding for global education initiatives

Serve as the fiscal agent for grants obtained by others, when needed

Facilitate school-to-school exchanges with other countries

Consult with schools and foreign exchange student programs regarding exchange issues

Assist teachers applying for Fulbright or other international travel grants

Create a clearinghouse of resources and ideas for international education and travel

Recruit and train for outbound exchange students, teachers, and other citizen diplomats

Provide conference and workshop speakers on international education topics

Network with other international education and exchange organizations

Most of the exchange activity of Global Indiana, so far, has been school exchanges with China. Withthe help of the China Exchange Initiative of Newton, Massachusetts in creating sister school

relationships, we have sent seven waves of key school leaders. We now more than eighty Indianaelementary, middle, and high schools partnered with schools in the Liaoning and Zhejiang Provinces

of the Peoples Republic of China. We also have limited partnerships in Germany and Thailand.These exchanges begin with administrators and lead teachers, but many participating schools now

include students.

With the Indiana Association of School Principals, the Indiana Association of Public School

Superintendents, and again with the China Exchange Initiative of Massachusetts, Global Indiana has

become involved with the Principals Shadowing Program (PSP), also in China. Three groups of

Chinese and a like number of Hoosier principals have traveled to visit their counterparts. Economic

concerns have limited PSP participation in recent years, but GI fully expects this excellent programto be resurrected in our state.

Another GI activity has been participation in an IDOE-sponsored committee to study student

exchange. GI leaders were involved in planning a set of guidelines for use by Indiana schools when

dealing with issues related to foreign exchange students and with the sending of students as outbound

exchange students. Global Indiana also works closely with the Council on Standards for

International Educational Travel, based in Alexandria, Virginia. This national organization monitors

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