Initiatives

i. Advanced Placement

In 2006-2007, the College Board and the Office of Overseas Schools continued to work together to expand professional development opportunities for AP and pre-AP teachers in Department-assisted overseas schools, to enhance communication between these schools and the College Board, and to promote acceptance of AP courses and exams in the admissions process of universities outside the United States. Professional development of AP teachers offers students outside the U.S. greater access to a rigorous academic education, enriches the secondary school curriculum, and enables teachers to further their professional development. To this end, OS continues to provide grants to underwrite teacher participation in AP teacher workshops.

In 2007, 110 Department-assisted overseas schools administered over 10,000 AP exams in 36 subjects to more than 5,000 students. The exams included every AP subject offered within the AP suite except Latin Literature. Even with substantial increases in the number of students participating, performance by students in these schools continued to be extraordinary and improved upon the results of the previous years. The percentage of AP Exams taken by students receiving a grade of 3 or higher reached a record high of 78%. The mean grade for AP Exams taken by OS students was 3.6 and was also best in the history of College Board-OS partnership. In addition, this score was far above that of students in any of the 50 states.

The following AP workshops were offered in 2006-07.

AP Workshops Held in Conjunction with Regional School Conferences

• AASSA in Asuncion, Paraguay: AP English and AP US History.

• AISA in Johannesburg, South Africa and in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: English Language and Literature

• EARCOS in Bangkok, Thailand: AP Chemistry, AP Economics, AP Physics and AP Psychology

• ECIS in Nice, France: AP Chinese Language and Culture, AP English Language and Literature, AP World History.

• NESA in Athens, Greece: AP Biology and AP English Language and Literature.

• Tri-Association in Bogota, Colombia: AP Calculus AB/BC (combined) and AP Spanish Language and Literature.

AP Workshops Hosted by Department-Assisted Overseas Schools

• Carol Morgan School in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: AP Calculus, Pre AP: Interdisciplinary Strategies for English and Social Studies

• Escuela Americana de El Salvador, in San Salvador, El Salvador: AP Calculus AB/BC, AP English Language and Literature, and AP European History

• QSI International School of Bratislava, in Bratislava, Slovakia: AP English Language and Literature, AP Calculus AB/BC (combined), and AP World History

• Singapore American School in Singapore: AP English Language and Literature, AP Statistics, Pre-AP: Strategies for World Languages and Cultures, and Pre-AP Topics for Vertical Teams in World Languages

• Taipei American School in Taipei, Taiwan: AP Calculus, AP Chinese Language and Culture, AP Computer Science and AP English Language and Literature

AP Recognition at Colleges and Universities outside the United States

Another major area of the collaborative AP initiative between the College Board and OS is an effort to expand recognition of AP among colleges and universities outside of the U.S. in order to benefit students at international schools who have completed AP courses. During 2006-2007, more than 50 universities , particularly in Latin America and Europe, established new policies on acceptance of AP courses. Latin American countries that established new policies included Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, and Venezuela. In Norway, the AP program gained system-wide recognition. In addition the College Board is partnering with universities and associations in Asia, particularly those in Australia, India, and South Korea, to secure recognition of AP courses,. For example, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) now recognizes completion of AP courses for admission. As a result of these efforts and those in previous years, the total number of universities outside of the U.S. that accept AP course completion for admission now exceeds 600 in more than 40 countries.

Participation in Regional School Conferences

AP staff participated in all regional school conferences where they gave presentations on AP and other College Board programs for teachers, counselors and administrators. These conferences include AASSA, AISA, CEESA, EARCOS, ECIS, MAIS, NESA, and Tri-Association.

For 2007-2008, AP and Pre-AP professional development workshops are planned at the following locations around the world in collaboration with host schools and regional school conferences: Bangkok, Thailand; Barranquilla, Colombia; Hong Kong; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Madrid, Spain; Panama City, Panama; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Information and registration for these workshops can be found at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/program/initiatives/22962.html

ii. Virtual School Project

The Virtual School program began in 2002 in association with the Office of Overseas Schools and the staff and students of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, VA, to support the March 2002 evacuation of the International School of Islamabad. Since its inception the program has expanded to 18 schools in the NESA region, 10 schools in the AISA region, and OS intends to work with the other six regions to spread the program to their schools.

The World Virtual School Project is an innovative, productive, and sustainable means of addressing the quality and continuity of curriculum across the breadth of the American Overseas Schools campuses. It is engaged in developing durable and multi-faceted regional online communities. The programs of the participating schools are significantly enhanced by access to technology-rich tools which promote student learning in the classroom, teacher professional development, and regional interaction and resource sharing. Furthermore, the programs in the participating schools are also made truly resilient in the face of natural or manmade emergencies - by virtue of the proven effectiveness of the system in providing for continuity of operations.

While Thomas Jefferson High School continues to provide technical advice and training, participating overseas schools have assumed responsibility for management and technology support in collaboration with OS, their regional associations, and Blackboard, Inc., which provides the software. In June 2007, Thomas Jefferson High School provided training to system administrators from Department-assisted overseas schools in managing a virtual school and using the software to support instruction and communication in an overseas school (see JOSTI - Jefferson/Overseas Schools Technology Institute.)

iii. Standards of Learning

OS has continued to emphasize and address an understanding of the nationwide movement toward developing curriculum standards. Representatives of Fairfax and Montgomery County school systems have briefed OS on the status of curriculum standards in Virginia and Maryland, the two states where the majority of Foreign Service families returning to the United States live. Continuing contacts with these officials and other national authorities are assisting OS and Foreign Service families in understanding the benefits of the standards initiative, the associated testing requirements for returning students, and the need to address any inequities they may face when they enroll in U.S. schools. Additional efforts to help Department-assisted overseas schools (93 of these schools are significantly underway in implementing a standards-based curriculum with AERO components) receive up-to-date information include special projects and teacher workshops:

• Projects

Project AERO, "American Education Reaches Out," was completed in 2003 through collaboration between 12 Department-assisted overseas schools and the U.S.-based Council for Basic Education, with grant support from OS and the Overseas Schools Advisory Council. The project is dedicated to providing academic standards for use as a curriculum foundation, assisting schools to develop their own K-12 curricula that are grounded in these standards, and training teachers to use the AERO standards as the basis for assessing student progress and their own instruction.

A website has been developed, www.projectaero.org, and four CDs are available to provide resources. They are:

• AERO Standards, funded by the Overseas Schools Advisory Council (OSAC), provides standards in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. These standards are the result of collaboration between 12 overseas schools and the U.S.-based Council for Basic Education.

• AERO SAW, "Evidence 2 Excellence," also funded by OSAC and completed in 2004, provides teachers with student performance assessment tools for standards and materials for training teachers on assessing student progress towards key concepts in the AERO standards.

• AERO, "Social Studies Standards: An International Approach," is a supplement to the AERO Standards CD. Funded by OS and completed in 2005, it provides social studies standards and benchmarks, plus a design template, suggested content topics organized by era and world region, and planning guidance for effective unit design.

• AERO +, is the second phase of the AERO standards, adding three subjects essential to a strong liberal arts education: music, visual arts, and world languages.

• Workshops

Teachers and curriculum coordinators participated in the sixth AERO: SBC (Standards-Based Curriculum) workshops held at the Potomac School, McLean, Virginia in June 2007. Introductory workshops were offered in social studies and science. The Academic Leaders workshop focused on the particular needs of heads of schools, principals, curriculum coordinators or department heads that are in the planning or implementation stages of a standards-based approach to curriculum. The Evidence to Excellence workshop provided a means for teachers to learn to critically examine critically the assignments they give to students and the resulting work produced in order to improve teaching assessment practices. In addition, two new workshops were offered. The first was a workshop that addressed Curriculum Mapping - curriculum revision through mapping rather than the more traditional committee approach. The second was an introductory workshop on world languages, the newest addition to the AERO subject-based standards.

AERO continues to offer the AERO Certificate in Curriculum offered in collaboration with SUNY Buffalo. This four-course program provides instruction and practice in curriculum design and instructional practices. Each 3-credit hour course may be applied toward a masters' degree at SUNY Buffalo.

In 2008, workshops will again be offered at the Potomac School. Topics will include Academic Leaders (curriculum coordinators and administrators); AERO Effective Curriculum Mapping; and AERO: Standards-based Curriculum and curriculum design in English, Art and World Languages.

iv. Educational Facilities

OS offers consulting services through a staff consultant who has extensive international school facilities experience and has assisted more than 63 Department-assisted overseas schools in all regions of the world. The consultant provides services on educational facilities planning, design, construction, and physical plant maintenance and operations to new schools and to schools whose facilities no longer meet their needs.

The consultant's technical assistance this past year focused mainly on reviewing and providing comment on design plans and facilities improvement programs for numerous schools worldwide. Another of the consultant's major efforts was the development of a new resource entitled "Security Guide for International Schools," which will be published at the end of 2007. Developed under the direction of OS, in consultation with the Offices of Overseas Building Operations and Diplomatic Security, the booklet and accompanying CD address security issues that are encountered in international schools. The Guide booklet presents an overview and the CD contains considerably more detailed information and reference material pertinent to the security of international schools.

The project titled Project Hamlet: To Build or Not to Build, a handbook that assists overseas schools in making decisions on planning, designing, and implementing new construction or renovation projects, continues to be solicited by schools contemplating changes to their facilities. Undertaken by the Near East South Asia Council of Overseas School, with support from OS and a grant from the Overseas Schools Advisory Council, the project was developed by the staff consultant who was the principal writer.