AFS Announces its 2011 Intercultural Educators Award Winners for International Education Week

Winners embody IEW theme: " International Education: Inspiring Students Locally to Succeed Globally "

AFS Intercultural Programs/USA is proud to announce the winners of our inaugural Intercultural Educators Awards: Sue Ridings of Independence, Missouri, and Emily Campbell of Pembroke, Massachusetts.

Announced as part of our International Education Week (IEW) festivities, these awards pay tribute to teachers who exemplify the theme of this year’s IEW -- “International Education: Inspiring Students Locally to Succeed Globally” – which is celebrated world-wide Nov. 14th – 18th.

Their passionate support for intercultural education and building a global community has led each to develop and support innovative programs in their home communities and abroad that help prepare their students to succeed in an increasingly global world.

“AFS recognizes and values all Educators and in particular Sue and Emily, as they strive to prepare students to excel in an increasingly connected world. Their dedication to intercultural learning is demonstrated in the lives they have touched and the service they have given to AFS,” said AFS-USA President Jorge Castro.

A passionate educator

Ridings, who retired after 31 years in the Independence, MO school system, made intercultural learning an integral part of daily life at Truman High School. As well as being a tireless volunteer for AFS in Missouri, this Family Life Education teacher also took the AFS club from 3 to 125 in her first year as advisor, encouraged community leaders including the school board to host an exchange student, helped organize the yearly intercultural Talent Show, raised funds to send Truman and other area high school students abroad, as well as helping develop a comprehensive set of criteria for supporting foreign exchange students that the Independence School District Board of Education adopted.

“AFS is my passion,” she said. “How will we have peace in this world if we don’t understand and appreciate one another and our differences? How can we solve the challenges presented by the world communities if we do not understand cultures and their needs, gifts, etc? Those are two of the questions that are the base of my philosophy, and when you feel something is very important it appears in your example, your curriculum. An enthused teacher makes for enthused students.”

She added, “No other foreign exchange program gives the support for student, family, school and community [as AFS], and the Independence school system as well as the community, has been very supportive of the AFS program and its goals.”

An “essential” experience

Campbell, a language teacher at Hingham High School, is equally dedicated to intercultural education.

She “lives the intercultural experience,” said Anne Marie Perry, a local AFS Volunteer.

“The world that the students live in is a much more fluid world than in past years,” Campbell said. “It is essential that the students learn how to communicate appropriately and understand the cultures of the other countries with whom they come in contact.”

A Spanish teacher at Hingham High School for the last 11 years, she also teaches work safety standards to predominately Spanish-speaking custodians in the Boston area and ESL classes to visiting exchange students over the summer. 

Campbell is the leader of the AFS Club at Hingham, organizer of her school’s International Day, an AFS Volunteer, a leader of short summer AFS trips to Panama. She is also a primary force in the her students’ participation in the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program, a US State Department sponsored merit-based scholarship that awards students full scholarships to study abroad to learn less-commonly offered foreign languages such as Hindu, Persian, Arabic, Korean, Russian and Mandarin Chinese.

Additionally, Hingham High is developing a "Global Competency Certificate" at graduation, an honor that would be awarded to students that have participated in global community service, travel, and learning, she said.

“There is no way around it,” Campbell said. “The students of today need to be more global in order to succeed.”

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Contact:

Nika Carlson

AFS-USA Marketing Department

ncarlson@afs.org

mobile: 347-463-6617

About AFS-USA

AFS, a worldwide, nonprofit organization, has been leading international high school student exchange for more than 60 years.  Each year, AFS-USA sends more than 1,100 US students abroad, provides approximately $3 million in scholarships and financial aid, and welcomes 2,500 international high school students who come to study in US high schools and live with host families.  More than 5,000 volunteers in the US make the work of AFS possible.

About International Education Week

International Education Week is a joint initiative of the US Departments of Education and State. It celebrates the benefits of understanding the world around us so we can better communicate and collaborate with others from different cultures. Find out more at http://iew.state.gov/

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