Maumee Valley Country Day School

Q. How will the Global Education Program affect the foreign language program?

As part of the strategic planning process, a subcommittee was formed to evaluate Maumee Valley's current foreign language offerings, examine language programs at other independent schools, and make suggestions regarding the feasibility and benefits of possible foreign language program additions. Current plans are under way to expand foreign language work in the Lower School and offer Chinese as an after school activity.

Q. Does Maumee Valley have a competitive Model UN program?

Maumee Valley has a strong tradition of using Model United Nations as a hands-on learning tool for 10th graders when studying international politics. Model UN promotes problem solving, teamwork, research, and conflict resolution. To further these skils, the Global Education Program plans to sponsor a Model UN Team for the Upper School that competes at conferences throughout the region.

Q. Will Maumee Valley have video conferencing capabilities?

While it is not always possible to bring international scholars to Toledo, technology creates an opportunity to connect with virtually anyone. The GEP plans to invest in equipment that will allow our community to communicate, observe, and collaborate with leaders, thinkers, and even other students in all corners of the world.

Q. How will GEP affect the student exchange program?

Winterim provides the opportunity for many Upper School students to spend four weeks overseas as part of their curriculum. The Global Education Program foresees an expansion of this program, sponsoring students to study at a school oveseas during 11th grade or as a post-graduate experience through the English Speaking Union Scholarship program. As part of this initiative, the GEP will also work to increase the number of foreign students who study at Maumee Valley through exchanges.

Q. Will Maumee Valley pursue teacher exchanges?

Faculty and students benefit when visiting teachers spend a year at Maumee Valley, sharing ideas from their country and school, exposing students and colleagues to their culture, and providing a different perspective to the community. Similarly, Maumee Valley teachers develop professionally and personally when they spend a year working in a new environment and teaching overseas. Sustained partnerships with schools abroad provide a natural avenue for teacher exchanges in the future.

Q. Will Maumee Valley partner with schools abroad?

Endless opportunities are presented when schools partner to exchange ideas, teach one another about their histories and cultures, and students form relationships that include pen pals and travel. Video conferencing equipment is key to this initiative. The National Association of Independent School's Challenge 20/20 is the first step as we team up with a school abroad to form a solution to a global problem.

Q. Are there plans for summer initiatives?

Yes. Middle School students throughout Northwest Ohio will have the opportunity to explore international issues, read and discuss articles, listen to scholars, and actively learn about other cultures during the summer months much like Maumee Valley students do during the school year. Global Education Summer Institute activities will include international cooking, guest lectures, Model UN type simulation, and a variety of other engaging and enriching experiences for rising 7th and 8th graders.

Q. How did the Global Education Program get started?

As part of the strategic planning process endorsed by the Board of Trustees in 2004, it was recommended that Maumee Valley develop programs that establish a niche within the Northwest Ohio educational landscape by exposing students and other constituents to opportunities not available at other secondary schools while fulfilling the MVCDS Mission. The faculty and staff convened in the fall of 2005 working with futurist Gary Marx on the outlook for education over the next two decades and to subsequently brainstorm possible niche program ideas. A volunteer faculty and staff steering committee was assembled to explore and recommend niche programs to the Board of Trustees.

In the winter of 2005-2006, the steering committee, comprised of faculty and staff from all divisions of the school, identified, researched, and evaluated several possible niche programs to be initiated with a generous anyonymous donation. While multiple programs were studied, the central conclusion of the committee was that Maumee Valley should focus its resources on pursuing a comprehensive Global Education initiative, the first and only of its kind in Northwest Ohio.

Q. What are future plans for the GEP?

Based on similar organizations in Cleveland, Dayton, and throughout the country, the Global Education Program envisions the creation of a nonprofit organization that primarily works to engage and inform Northwest Ohio regarding international issues and opportunities for citizens to work collectively for peace and cultural understanding. While originally formed by the GEP, the Toledo Council on World Affairs will be markedly separate from the school and financially self-sustaining.