Piangkan Pramnin from Thailand has been awarded a fellowship from the U.S. Department of State to participate in the Educational Seminar: 2012 – 2013 Thailand Educator Exchange Program. Ms. Pramnin is one of 10 educators who have been selected from Thailand to participate. From October 13 – November 1, 2012, she will be hosted by Jeffrey Youde at Quilcene School District, Quilcene, WA. Jeffrey Youde, Principal at Quilcene, has also been awarded one of 10 fellowships for this program from the U.S. Department of State, and will travel to Thailand in July 2013 for the reciprocal component of this exchange.
Ms. Pramnin is enjoying her interactions with Quilcene students, staff, and community members, as they help her learn about American education and culture. Highlights have included a tour of Quilcene’s salmon hatchery, a cold sailing trip on the Adventuress, a Homecoming football game and dance, and a Common Core workshop at OESD 114. After the workshop, she received a tour of the entire facility, and was able to discuss differences in Thai and US educational systems with ESD 114 Superintendent Walt Bigby.
The Educational Seminar: 2012 – 2013 Thailand Educator Exchange Program is a short-term, mutual exchange opportunity for U.S. and Thai school educators. The program provides a short-term professional development opportunity for U.S. and Thailand educators to share best practices on issues of mutual interest to their schools, students and communities. The Thailand educators spend three weeks in U.S. schools with their U.S. partners in October, 2012 and the U.S. educators travel to Thailand for two weeks the following summer in their partners’ schools. The program is individualized through collaboration between partners and focuses on teaching strategies/instruction, the development of joint educational projects, personnel administration, school systems and management, global issues and culture, curriculum development, student affairs, and/or educational policy.
The Educational Seminar Programs are funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries around the world through academic, cultural, and professional exchanges. Currently, Educational Seminars are administered with Argentina, Brazil, India, Portugal, Thailand and Uruguay. The program is implemented by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS (http://www.americancouncils.org/es).