Cultural Exchange Committee
Background
Over the past ten years the Port Angeles School District has enjoyed a fruitful cultural exchange relationship with the junior high schools of Mutsu City, Japan, and with Tanabu High School, also located in Mutsu City, but administered by the prefecture. The city of Port Angeles also has enjoyed a decade-long sister city relationship with the municipal leadership of Mutsu City. The exchange program was interrupted by the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, as both Port Angeles and Mutsu leaders were concerned for the safety of traveling students and chaperones. Upon resuming the exchange travel, the school board began discussing program guidelines for the district’s approach to cultural exchange.
At the July 19, 2004 meeting the board approved establishment of a Cultural Exchange Committee comprised of: two teachers, with one of the teachers a foreign language instructor if possible; two secondary school administrators; two parents; two community representatives; a city representative; a college representative; two board members; a student who has previously gone on an exchange; and a PIRA representative. The superintendent was charged with responsibility for assembling a recommendation for committee members and a non-voting chair. On February 14, 2005 the board approved the appointments, but the commencement of the committee’s work was delayed as a result of the failure of the February 2005 maintenance and operations levy.
Task Force Charge
Based on the discussion during the board’s meetings, the purposes of the Cultural Exchange Committee are as follows:
a) Defining the role of the school district’s relationship with the Peninsula International Relations Association (PIRA) and the city of Port Angeles in future exchanges;
b) Review current and proposed cultural exchange relationships (Japan, China, Germany), and recommend whether the district should continue, revise, conclude, or decline any of the relationships; and whether to add relationships to our list, and how to determine the appropriateness of the relationship;
c) Recommend the number of exchanges in which the district should participate in any year;
d) Recommend an appropriate allocation by the district to support cultural exchange, and suggest approaches to raising money to support these exchanges in light of the current financial challenges the district faces; and
e) Suggest standards and expectations regarding student preparation for the exchanges, as well as chaperone expectations (e.g. portion of travel costs; qualifications; integration of dignitaries into the expected learning activities).
March 27, 2006