Partnership for Schools (P4S)
Professional Exchange and
U.S. School Visit
for Indonesian Pesantren Leaders and Educators
October 11 –November 6, 2008
Organized by the East-West Center with assistance from Pusat Pengkajian
Islam dan Masayarkat (PPIM)
Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta
Application closing date: April 1, 2008
Quick Links:
Introduction | Program
Components | Participant Support | Participant
Responsibility | Program Management |
Selection Process - Eligibility Requirements/Selection
Criteria | Application Procedure | East-West
Center
INTRODUCTION
The East-West Center, an internationally recognized
education and research institution headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii,
invites applications for Partnership for Schools (P4S). The P4S program
is a U.S. professional exchange open to administrators and teacher-leaders
of pesantren, or boarding schools, administered under the auspices of
the Government of Indonesia’s Department of Religious Affairs,
that focus on teaching Islamic values and on providing basic education
to secondary schoolchildren in Indonesia. Interested individuals are
encouraged to apply in teams of 2-4 per school. In all, 45 Indonesian
participants from up to 15 schools will be selected for the program.
The goal of P4S is to strengthen U.S.-Indonesian ties by promoting mutual
understanding, joint learning, and cross-cultural dialogue between Indonesians
and Americans at the grassroots level. As such, the program aims to
build professional, institutional, and personal relationships between
Indonesian and U.S. school administrators and teacher-leaders as they
work together to meet the shared challenges of educating today’s
youth for fulfilled life and responsible citizenship in the fast changing,
interdependent world of the 21st century.
Indonesian participants will travel to the United States from October 14 through November 6, 2008. In the United States, they will spend five days at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, attending seminar
sessions and working with a smaller group of educators from U.S. schools
that will be hosting the Indonesians. Then, accompanied by their American
host teachers, Indonesians will travel in small groups to 15 host school
sites in different parts of the United States. They will spend 14 days
on their host school visit during which time they will live with American
host families. They will return to the East-West Center for three days
of debriefing and follow-up project planning. Indonesian participants
will be required to attend a two and a half day orientation session in Jakarta
prior to their U.S. travel.
Funding support for the P4S program is provided by the Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
PARTICIPANT SUPPORT
Indonesian participants will be provided with the
following:
- Roundtrip international airline ticket between Jakarta, Indonesia, and Honolulu, Hawaii, and airport transfers in Honolulu
- Roundtrip domestic airline ticket between Honolulu, Hawaii, and U.S. host school site, and associated airport transfers
- Lodging and some meals during orientation in Jakarta, Indonesia
- Shared (two participants per room) occupancy room in East-West Center graduate student dormitory during the seminar and debriefing sessions
- Home stay with an American family (one participant per family) during the U.S. school visit
- Three meals per day provided throughout the program in the United States, including during home stays
- Instructional materials
- Free use of computer and access to the Internet while at the East-West Center
- Field trips organized by the East-West Center and any sightseeing trips organized by U.S. host schools and host families
PARTICIPANT RESPONSIBILITY
Indonesian participants are responsible for the
following:
- Passport valid through April 30, 2009
- Copy of passport bio-data page sent to the East-West Center by May 12, 2008
- Airport departure taxes in Indonesia
- Roundtrip transportation from their home to Jakarta International Airport
- Certificate of good health for travel
- Small gift(s) for your home stay family. Suggestions will be provided.
- Personal expenses not covered by the program
- Full participation in the program, including attending pre-departure orientation in Jakarta, providing a short bio to share with the host school and home stay family, completing reading assignments, and assisting with program evaluation
- Implementation of follow-up project activities
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Professional Development Seminar: The seminar
component of the program will be held on the East-West Center campus in
Honolulu, Hawaii. Seminar sessions will include lecture-presentations,
hands-on workshop sessions, technology tutorials, and field trips. Teacher-representatives
from schools that will be hosting Indonesian participants will also attend
the seminar sessions. At the conclusion of the seminar, the American teachers
will accompany their Indonesian guest-teachers to their schools.
U.S. School Visit and Home Stay: Indonesian
participants will visit U.S. schools in small groups (of 2 to 4 per group)
with each group visiting different U.S. schools, which may be anywhere
in the United States – from the Big Island of Hawaii to the Manhattan
Island of New York. During the school visit, Indonesian participants will
live with American host families affiliated with their host schools.
Through in-class observations, comparisons of curriculum
and teaching methods, discussions with school/district leaders, and meetings
with community groups, including parents and business groups, Indonesians
will examine how American schools prepare students for life and work in
the 21st century. Curriculum that incorporates real-world events and issues,
service learning, and internships that develop school-community partnerships
will be noted. Indonesians will share aspects of their culture with American
students, teachers, and host community groups. Before leaving their host
schools, Indonesians and their American counterparts will work together
to develop plans for follow-up project exchanges and, depending on the
resources of U.S. host schools, possible visits to Indonesia by American
teachers and students.
Debriefing and Program Follow-up: Indonesians will spend three additional days at the East-West Center for debriefing and planning follow-up activities. Back in Indonesia, they will work with their host schools to implement their follow-up plans
East-West
Center: P4S is program of the East-West Center, an education and research
organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations
and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific,
and the United States. The East-West Center contributes to a peaceful,
prosperous, and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub
for cooperative research, education, and dialogue on critical issues of
common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Since
1998, the East-West Center’s AsiaPacificEd
Program, which will manage this program, has been providing teacher
professional development on best practices to infuse a global perspective
in teaching about Asia in U.S. schools and cross-cultural exchange programs
between U.S. and Asian schools.
Program Staff: Namji Steinemann, Director of AsiaPacificEd Program,
will lead the program. Steinemann, who most recently served as Vice President
of the Education Program at the Asia Society in New York, brings to the
program her extensive knowledge of K-12 curriculum and the Asia Pacific
region as well as her work experience in training teachers and youth in
the United States and in Asia to develop global and cross-cultural competencies.
She is the architect of the award-winning AskAsia website (www.AskAsia.org)
along with numerous curriculum and school change initiatives.
Steinemann will oversee the program while enlisting the support of East-West
Center specialists and other experts, including: Charles Morrison, President
of the East-West Center and a specialist in Asia-Pacific international
relations who has long been involved in promoting the concept of Asia
Pacific community and its implementation in all aspects of East-West Center
programs; Terrance Bigalke, Director of Education at the East-West Center
and a comparative world historian with an extensive knowledge of Indonesia
and Southeast Asia and work experience with reciprocal exchanges in Asia
and other parts of the world; Muhammad Ali, a former East-West Center
Fellow and teacher-researcher at UIN-Jakarta and current assistant professor
of Southeast Asian studies at the University of California-Riverside;
Richard Baker, Special Assistant to the President of the East-West Center
and a former U.S. Foreign Service officer with an extensive knowledge
of Indonesian politics and policies and experience with programs addressing
Asia Pacific regionalism; and Saiful Uman, a PPIM staff at UIN-Jakarta
and a program facilitator in Indonesia for P4S.
SELECTION PROCESS
(Application process is now complete.)
Our goal is to select a diverse group of pesantren-based
secondary school administrators and teacher-leaders, particularly those
responsible for curriculum or teaching decisions and who: (1) have a strong
desire to help prepare Indonesian youth with education that integrates
a global perspective, cross-cultural knowledge, and communication skills
critical in today’s global world; (2) are committed to improving
Indonesian perceptions of the United States and American understanding
of Indonesia; and (3) will work to sustain communication, networking,
and cooperation with their U.S. host schools.
Eligibility Requirements:
Ability to speak, read, and write in English is a requirement as is minimum
3 years of full-time teaching and/or school administrative experience.
Also required is a signature on the application from the headmaster of
the applicant’s school indicating that the school will support follow-up
activities.
Selection Criteria: Participants who meet the eligibility requirements will be selected based on the following criteria:
- Teach, or supervise the instruction of, subjects in which a global perspective, critical thinking, inquiry-based methods can be included.
- Demonstrated leadership or potential for leadership in teaching, curriculum development, and/or in-service teaching of fellow teachers.
- Cross-cultural sensitivity and openness to new ideas and experiences and a commitment to working as part of a group.
- Capacity to disseminate their program experiences in their home schools and communities and a commitment to conducting at a minimum two workshop sessions for educators and one public outreach activity (which may be public presentations, TV/radio interviews, and/or articles in journals/newspapers and on websites).
- Ability and willingness to share one’s
own culture and traditions with American teachers, students, and community
members.
Additional Factors: Preference will be given
to those applying in school-based teams. Other factors include a national
geographic distribution, school environments (urban, suburban, and rural
as well as socio-economic status), and a gender balance.
Finalist Interview: Applicants selected
as finalists will be contacted on or before April 7, 2008 and must be
available for telephone interviews during April 8-11, 2008. East-West
Center staff will call to conduct the telephone interviews.
U.S. Visa Application Process: Applicants
that pass the interview process must provide their passport information
to the East-West Center by May 12 so that the Center can help obtain their
U.S. entry visas. The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta will waive the cost of visa
for P4S participants. However, Indonesian participants must obtain their
own passport.
The final visa approval decision rests with the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. Therefore, there is a chance, though rare, that an applicant who is accepted into the program by the East-West Center may not be approved for an entry visa to the U.S. If that happens, the East-West Center cannot reimburse the applicant for the cost of their passport.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
(Application deadline has passed.)
All communication concerning the program and completed
applications may be sent to:
Partnership for Schools Program
C/o PPIM-UIN Jakarta
Jl. Ketamukti No. 5
Cireundeu, Ciputat, Tangerang 15419
FAX: (021) 7408633; EMAIL: partnership@ppim.or.id
Or, you may contact the East-West Center directly
at the contact points below:
AsiaPacificEd Program
East-West Center
1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, HI 96848
TEL: 001-1-808-944-7378
FAX: 001-1-808-944-7070 ; EMAIL: asiapacificed@eastwestcenter.org
EAST-WEST CENTER
The East-West Center is an education and research
organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations
and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific,
and the United States. The East-West Center contributes to a peaceful,
prosperous, and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub
for cooperative research, education, and dialogue on critical issues of
common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. The Center’s
AsiaPacificEd Program, which will manage this program, works with schools
throughout the United States and in Asia to provide professional development
programs on as well as in Asia for teachers, cross-cultural learning opportunities
in Asia for students, and visiting teachers programs for Asian and American
teachers to work alongside their peers. AsiaPacificEd also facilitates
school-to-school exchanges as part of a service-learning initiative that
provides U.S. schools with opportunities to support and work with schools
as well as individual students and families in need in various parts of
Asia.