Friday, October 5, 2001

Exchange program brings international teachers to Fulton

Students in Fulton County will have even more opportunities to learn about the world this school year thanks to the district hosting more than 80 international exchange teachers.

These international educators from 12 countries will teach all grades in subjects including math, science, special education and foreign languages.

Countries represented include Australia, Ireland, Spain, Nigeria, New Zealand, Holland, South Africa and Jamaica.

The teachers have been placed in Fulton County through the district's partnership with the Visiting International Faculty Program, the leading cultural exchange program for teachers.

Founded in 1987, VIF seeks out the best international educators and brings them to the U.S. to teach and share their cultures with elementary and secondary school students.

This school year, more than 1,800 VIF participants from more than 40 countries will teach in K-12 schools in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Colorado, Kansas and California.

Georgia schools will host more than 300 VIF teachers in eight districts: Atlanta, Clarke County, DeKalb County, Douglas County, Fayette County, Fulton County, Gainesville and Walton County.

This is the third year that Fulton County has hosted VIF teachers, who have had remarkable success. Fulton County principals asked 96 percent of the VIF teachers hosted in 2000-2001 to return and rated more than 85 percent as "excellent" or "above average."

The 40 VIF teachers returning to Fulton County this year include two Claudia Cuervo of Chile and Marsha Macaulay of Canada who were named Teacher of the Year at their respective schools. Cuervo teaches at Oak Knoll Elementary School and Macaulay teaches at Stonewall Tell Elementary School.

VIF participants each go through a rigorous selection process. All VIF participants are required to speak English fluently, have a university degree or teaching diploma equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree, and have teacher training and experience. Only about 10 percent of applicants to the VIF program are accepted.

VIF seeks to give all U.S. students the chance to know someone from another culture and thereby gain a broader perspective on the world.

This interaction leaves students better educated, more tolerant and better prepared to succeed in the global economy, teachers say.

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