April 18, 2017

TO:  Principals

FROM:  Steven M. Constantino, Chief Academic Officer/Assistant Superintendent for Instruction

SUBJECT: International School Partnerships Available for All Content Areas

Since 2012, Virginia has partnered with L’Académie de Reims in France to provide an International Sister School Partner Program.  On May 18, 2017, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Steven R. Staples, will participate in a signing ceremony to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and L’Académie de Reims. 

The International Sister School Partner Program provides opportunities for students, teachers, schools, and school divisions in Virginia to connect with schools in other countries to collaborate on projects of mutual interest.  Virginia and Reims currently have 21 active school partnerships formed as a result of this program, with additional partnerships still pending. 

Any Virginia school may request a partner school pairing, with or without a French language component.  These partnerships:

• are based on areas of mutual interest and include projects and activities agreed upon by both schools;
• may include virtual communication and collaboration in general or specific content area projects, such as culinary arts, science and technology, green schools, historical connections, etc.;
• may or may not include a student exchange, depending on the partner schools’ preference; and
• may be led by teachers in any content area.  The Virginia school partnership leader does not have to be a French language teacher.

The number of partnerships is limited based on available schools.  Attachment B is a list of French schools currently seeking a partner school in Virginia.   Additional schools may be available for pairing as the sign-up period is ongoing.  For more information, contact Dr. Lisa Harris, Specialist for Foreign Languages and International Education, by email at Lisa.Harris@doe.virginia.gov or by telephone at (804) 225-3666.

To sign up for a partner school pairing, please mail Attachment A, School Profile form, to Dr. Lisa A. Harris, Specialist for Foreign Languages and International Education, Virginia Department of Education, P.O. Box 2120, Richmond, VA 23218-2120, or email to Lisa.Harris@doe.virginia.gov.

SMC/LH/vdg

Attachments:

1. School Profile Form -This is a PDF document. (Word)
2. French Schools in Search of American Partners-This is a PDF document. (PDF)