(Global Cities Education Network visitors in the Sealth library)
On this MLK Day holiday meant for contemplation of understanding, collaboration, and diversity, among other things, we have an update on one way that’s happening across borders, right here in West Seattle. Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark shares news of a delegation that visited Denny and adjacent Chief Sealth International High School last week as part of the Global Cities Education Network‘s meeting.

Clark explains, “The first GCEN meeting took place in Hong Kong on May 10-12, 2012, and included participating cities: Chicago, Denver, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Seattle, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, and Toronto. Participants identified several common, high-priority problems of practice and agreed to initially focus on two: the need to develop and sustain a high-quality teaching force, and the need to improve educational outcomes for low performing and linguistically and culturally diverse students.” He adds, ““We were very pleased to have the chance to welcome educators from around the globe to see the powerful things happening with our scholars at Denny International. The opportunity to network and discuss global educational issues is important and was insightful.” The visit report includes an observation from Sealth principal Chris Kinsey: “Chief Sealth International High School continues to open its doors to the world. Collaborating with international educators to create new opportunities for our students is a core element of who we are as an International School.” Here’s Sealth teacher Noah Zeichner, involved in many of their internationally focused initiatives (such as World Water Week), with a colleague from Hong Kong:

The visiting educators also checked out John Stanford International School while in Seattle.