High School Study Abroad Scholarship Program

                High School Study Abroad Scholarship Program
                Proposal 2/13/08
                By Dave Porter

 (1) Each school district would be required to pay up to 90% of its per pupil spending for qualified study abroad programs. For example, using data from the Oregon Department of Education’s Open Book website, Portland’s per pupil spending is $9,442, so they would be required to fund scholarships of up to $8,497 each for qualified academic-year-long study abroad programs. Several other examples: 90% of Salem-Keizer’s $8,288 is $7,459; of Beaverton’s $7,607 is $6,846, of Hillsboro’s $7,499 is $6,749, and of Eugene’s $8,440 is $7,596.

(2) There are existing academic-year-long study abroad programs that cost less than these figures. For examples, note that Portland based Education, Travel and Culture offers academic year programs with fees ranging from to $5,500 to $7,950, not including airfare, from countries ranging from Brazil to Sweden. China is $6,950 (plus airfare) for an academic year. Portland based Andeo offers an academic year in Mexico for $6,000 plus airfare. There are many other study abroad programs currently existing and others could be created specifically to use this funding. Some school district could save money by sending students to study abroad.

(3) There is a national organization, the Council for Standards on International Educational Travel (CSIET) that “identifies reputable international youth exchange programs.” So, to be eligible for public funding, a study abroad program must either be listed with this CSIET or approved by the Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(4) Students would not be able to use other funds (especially family funds) to pay for these study abroad programs except under the following circumstances: (a) additional (over and above the 90%) public or private funding is provided for a group of at least five students, there is sufficient notice for all interested students to apply, and selection among eligible students is done by lottery; or (b) the student will study in a foreign language that is determined to be of critical strategic importance to Oregon or the US (to include at a minimum Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Mandarin, Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Korean, Marathi, Pashto, Punjabi, Russian, Tajik, Turkish, Urdu, and Uzbek.) in which case private (family or other) funds can be added to public funds for an individual student.

(5) Currently students studying abroad are granted credit for specific courses towards graduation requirements at the discretion/judgment of their high school (usually a counselor). For students whose foreign language fluency is such that they will take courses in a foreign high school, this system can continue. Such student may also waive the 1.0 credit for Global Studies, 1.0 credit for English, 1.0 Science credit and 1.0 math credit from their graduation requirements. But for students studying languages of critical strategic importance to Oregon and the US (see above), who may not be in regular foreign high school classes, who may or may not be in a regular foreign high school, but study only the foreign language for four hours or more a day in whatever setting, they should be given 4.0 credits for foreign language study, 1.0 credits for Global Studies, and 1.0 credits for English, plus one year of math and science each should be waived from their graduation requirements.

(6) Students must be fluent in English.
 
Website links:

(1) Department of Education’s Open Book: http://www.openbooksproject.org/district.aspx.

(2) Education, Travel and Culture: http://www.edutrav.org/study-fees.asp.

(3) Andeo: http://www.andeo.org/html/mexico2.html.

(4) Council for Standards on International Educational Travel (CSIET): http://www.csiet.org/mc/page.do.

(5) For info on “critical need languages” see http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/58733.htm and http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:JZy9pFCJqD8J:us.fulbrightonline.org/documents/fulbright_language.doc+critical+language+initiative&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us&client=firefox-a ,

Comments

[Shirah Foy]

As an exchange student recently returned from a year in French high school in Brussels, Belgium, and having paid for my trip 100% through personal employment wages and a small family donation, I must disagree with clause 4 of the above proposal.

Why do you find it relevant whether a student receives private funding or not? Is this an attempt to make it "fair" for everyone? What happens to the student whose trip is going to cost more than his allotted 90% per student funding? Why put students inside of a box, limiting them to certain countries, (which is inevitable under clause 4, due to the cost of living variable in every country) and perhaps extinguishing their desire to ever study abroad because no matter how hard they work or how much funding they produce they will not be allowed to study in the region of their choice?

As an individual who lived in a foreign country for 12 months, studied in that country's public school system, became fluent in the language, and was blessed with many other travel opportunities while there--considering all these experiential and intellectual accquisitions--the most important and notable gain was in personal character. For a reason even more important than producing globally-aware citizens, we need to send our students abroad that they may return mature, well-rounded, self-dependent, patriotic citizens with a deep appreciation of the rights and luxuries they enjoy as an Oregonian and an American; students who possess a comprehensive world view and the ability to think for themselves.

Please consider revising clause 4 of the proposal. Feel free to contact me for further discussion and/or suggestions. I have seen firsthand the benefits of study abroad and care deeply about the matter-- I am more than willing to work with you on this to help create a program that would greatly benefit fellow Oregonians.

Shirah Foy
(541) 621-8933
[email protected]