Partners in Education Program

The Office of Academic Programs of the United States Information Agency's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for an assistance award program, not to exceed $850,000. U.S. educational and other not-for-profit organizations with a minimum of four years experience in successfully administering international exchange programs, meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c)(3)-1, may apply to develop a six-week professional internship program for approximately 90 secondary school educators in the social sciences and secondary school administrators, with language proficiency, from Russia and Ukraine, in a 60 to 40 ratio respectively. We envision that some of the hosting U.S. school administrators will visit the schools of their Russian and Ukrainian participants under the grant to strengthen the partnerships. This initiative is intended to provide participants with opportunities to learn about secondary level curriculum development and teaching methodologies in the U.S. The program will add a secondary school teacher component to the Agency's academic programming in Russia and Ukraine, and will build upon USIA's previous linkages in the NIS, such as ``Community Connections'' and youth exchange. While in the U.S., the teachers and administrators will have the opportunity to pursue curriculum development in their own field of interest and learn new teaching methodologies and approaches through five-week internships in U.S. high schools. The internship duration for the administrators may be less than five weeks, subject to individuals' availability. The proposed program will span three academic semesters, starting in the fall of 1997. The contracted organization will be expected to recruit in Russia and Ukraine. After an orientation in Washington, D.C., grantees will be placed in small groups at various school districts in the U.S., and assigned internships in local high schools. Activities for the Russian and Ukrainian teachers and administrators would include: Observing classes, curriculum development, and teaching methods; delivering presentations to student and faculty on their own schools, local educational systems, and communities, either alone or together with their foreign colleagues; reviewing and collecting teaching materials for possible use in their home schools; and collaborating with U.S. school administrators to provide an understanding of the U.S. educational system at the local level. Teachers and administrators should also come to understand the relationship between the community and the educational system. The teachers and administrators would also engage in site visits to other schools, deliver presentations at those schools as well as to local civic and community groups, and attend PTA and school board meetings. We also encourage participants to establish contacts that will foster ongoing school linkages upon their return to Russia and Ukraine. Program participants will be required to meet established criteria upon completion of the program. Overall grant making authority for this program is contained in the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Public Law 87- 256, as amended, also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act. The purpose of the act is ``to enable the Government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries * * *; to strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations * * * and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations between the United States and the other countries of the world.'' The funding authority for the program cited above is provided through the Freedom Support Act, P.L. 102-511. Programs and projects must conform with Agency requirements and guidelines outlined in the Solicitation Package. USIA projects and programs are subject to the availability of funds.