Our area has three of Seattle Public Schools‘ International Schools – Chief Sealth International High School, Denny International Middle School, and Concord International (Elementary) School. The district is convening a series of conversations about international education‘s future, starting with a meeting 6-7:30 pm at Sealth tomorrow night, following a chance to learn more about programs there, as explained in the announcement:

Come early (between 4:30 and 6:00 pm) to enjoy Chinese refreshments and celebrate the unveiling of the Chief Sealth International High School Confucius Classroom. You’ll have a chance to hear from the group of Chief Sealth students and teachers who just returned from a visit to their sister school, Nankai Secondary School in Chongqing, China. This type of sister school relationship is something we want to strongly foster in our International Schools.

From 4:30-6:00 pm there will also be tables and displays:

• Denny and Chief Sealth’s unique middle and high school Dual Language Immersion Continuation program for Spanish, featuring two periods a day with Spanish Language Arts and Social Studies, including Global Leadership classes, and starting this fall, AP Spanish for 9th grade students (as well as IB courses in 11th and 12th grade).

• Chief Sealth’s robust Japanese language program and extensive cultural exchange opportunities.

• Displays on global education initiatives, such as World Water Week, the Global Issues Network Conference, Mariachi Education, Bog to Bay project.

Agenda for the Community Meeting

6:00: Arrival in the library. Greetings from International Schools Principals and International Education Administrator

6:10: Remembering the Past

• John Stanford’s dream (everyone a language learner)
• Research on the effectiveness of Dual Language Immersion
• Asia Society’s work in International Education/Global Competence

6:20: Understanding the Present

• 3 Pathways in 3 regions
• 10 International Schools (5 elementary, 3 middle, 2 high schools)
• Successes
• Challenges

6:30: Imagining the Future

• Options to consider
o Do we sustain current schools/programs?
o Can we expand opportunities?
o Can we streamline the assignment plan models?

6:40: At tables: Explore issues of concern to families in the SW region of Seattle

Questions:

1. Should the district continue to support the work of International Schools / Dual Language Immersion programs?

2. Should the district support the expansion of elementary Dual Language Immersion in the SW region as a gap-closing strategy?

3. If Dual Language Immersion is expanded in SW, what language(s) should be offered and why?

7:00-7:30: Share out and next steps

Chief Sealth IHS is at 2600 SW Thistle.