The World in our Towns

The World in Our Town seeks to advance an innovative approach to nurturing global competence among K-12 educators and students, as a means to prepare them for life, work, college, and citizenship in a globally interdependent world. This initiative takes the local cultural capital of the city – i.e., its ethnic diversity, cultural life, neighborhood identity, cultural institutions, NGOs, and international presence – as a point of departure. It does so to nurture a form of global competence that opens students’ minds and deepens their engagement with the world while also fostering their local belonging as they explore the world's manifestations in their city. We have pioneered this approach through two main projects, The World in Portland and The World in DC, in which we collaborated directly with the City of Portland Public Schools (ME) and the Washington, D.C. Public Schools.

We look forward to continuing this work through new district partnerships nationally and internationally.

The World in Portland
For over three years, educators in Portland Public Schools (PPS) and researchers at the Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero have collaborated to prepare students across the district for success in both academic and career opportunities. They focused particularly on developing students as engaged and knowledgeable, globally competent citizens. The “World in Portland Project,” as we called it, aimed to build capacity for high-quality teaching for global competence across disciplines and educational levels in the district.

The project brought together leaders, teachers, students, and community members in various configurations to explore what matters most to learn and how to do so effectively in our changing, interconnected world. Guided by the Global Competence Education Framework (Boix Mansilla & Jackson, 2011), a multiyear seminar series enabled school leaders and teachers to become familiar with principles and best practices in quality global competence education. Teachers designed and explored small and large-scale teaching innovations, receiving extensive feedback through classroom documentation and selected videos, images, and examples of student work on their efforts. Team members included Flossie Chua, Mara Krechesvky, and Melissa Rivard.

The World in DC
With a focus creating the first three Global Studies Schools selected as DCPS sites for PZ based global education innovation, we worked closely with DCPS and its Division of Global

Education to: (a) develop capacity among a cadre of educators preparing them to lead quality global competence education efforts over time; (b) develop a series of practical approaches and tools that teachers can use to inform their teaching; (c) develop, test, and disseminate a new approach to educating for global competence that is grounded in our city and open to the world; and (d) establish a robust and long-lasting network of schools, higher education and cultural institutions able to collaborate effectively in the advancement of global competence education among teachers and students.

Our coordinating team includes Kate Ireland, Julian Hipkins, Marci Jones, Melvina Jones, Jim Reese, and Vaija Wagle. We work with the Professional Development Collaborative at the Washington International School. Today, Verónica continues to work closely with the Global Education team at DCPS, advancing global initiatives around town.