Principals and teachers from EARCOS schools take part in a
team building activity led by USF faculty meant to illustrate the complexities of working
together.
The University of San Francisco’s School of Education is
addressing the unique needs of international educators with a new program
designed for teachers and administrators living and working in Asia.
Offered jointly by USF and Washington State University,
the program offers a certificate in international school leadership for
educators from the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools (EARCOS).
Through the program, educators from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and
other surrounding nations attend intensive academic seminars scheduled in
conjunction with EARCOS conferences and on location in international schools.
While there are some assignments and reading to be done before and after the
seminars, the emphasis is on face-to-face instruction and the opportunity to
discuss challenges in-person with colleagues.
“The EARCOS region has experienced significant growth in
the past five years, adding 3,000 teachers and nearly 30,000 students to its
K-12 schools,” said USF School of Education Dean Walt Gmelch. “Of the 8,400
educators working in those schools, 68 percent expressed interest in
professional development, but there is a lack of opportunities that are both
convenient to their location and appropriate to their field. This program
addresses both of those needs and prepares international school leaders to
advance student success by becoming global citizens.”
The inaugural group of 15 students is on track to complete
the certificate program in the fall. Gmelch and Christopher Thomas, faculty
member in the School of Education’s leadership studies department, who along
with Gmelch teaches the USF courses overseas, will recruit a second cohort of
students to begin the program this year.
