Tomorrow I leave for Washington, DC

The time is finally here!  Tomorrow I travel to DC to meet with school administrators from the US, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

This is the first meeting of a group participating in the 2010-2011 Brazil Administrator Exchange Program, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United State Department of State and implemented by the American Councils for International Education:  ACTR-ACCELS and the National Councils of State Secretaries of Education (CONSED/Brazil).  Last fall I received an invitation from the Georgia Department of Education to apply for an international Administrator's Exchange.  I chose to apply for an exchange with Brazil and was notified of my acceptance this spring.

This exchange is designed to provide an opportunity for school administrators in the US to collaborate with Brazilian school administrators and to share experiences, develop classroom methodology and to increase international understanding with other educators. In addition, the entire Catoosa County School System and community will benefit from the interaction with these school administrators from South America.

I have been communicating with the staff of the American Councils for International Education for several months and making plans to host two Brazilian administrators, a translator and the Brazilian program coordinator from October 16-November 4.  I have planned an agenda that will allow them to visit all 17 of the Catoosa County, Georgia schools and enjoy weekends and evenings exploring the beautiful area around Chattanooga, Tennessee and north Georgia.

This week, the Brazil/US group will join the Argentina/US and Mexico/US exchanges for a seminar in Washington, DC.  It is going to be a blast to finally meet the entire group and exchange information about our various school systems.  The agenda for our 4-day seminar looks fantastic!  We will learn more about the educational systems in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico and hear from administrators who have participated in this exchange in prior years.  I'm looking forward to sharing information about my school system in a Community and Volunteerism Fair.  In a gallery walk style, the US administrators will give poster presentations to the international participants on how their schools promote student and community involvement outside of the standardized curriculum.

Of course we will visit the monuments in our capital city and show our visitors what a beautiful place it is.  The weather looks wonderful for the week - crisp temperatures and lots of sun.  What a perfect time of year to visit a beautiful city!