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Local school districts had a once in a lifetime opportunity recently when they got the chance to meet with a group of elementary school educators from South Wales who visited BLaST IU 17 recently.
The partnership, as part of an international job shadowing project, gave the opportunity for educators and administrations from Williamsport Area School District, Loyalsock Township School District, Jersey Shore Area School District, BLaST IU 17 and Southern Tioga School District to meet local teachers, talk about available resources and to tour the district programs available to students in the region, according to a press release.
The first phase of this project began in March of 2022. Five schools from Wales were paired with five schools from Lycoming and Tioga counties, the release said.
The partnership focused on inquiry-based teaching of Self-Organized Learning Environments, or SOLE, which was initated by StartSOLE and BLaST IU 17.
The objectives of this project included bringing global thinking to classrooms, strenthening digital and communication skills, as well as developing autonomy in their learning, the release said. Schools carried out virtual activities with each other including real-time collaboration, student video creation and inquiry-based research questions.
The job shadowing project was phase two and was completed recently.
The teachers from Wales spent five days in Williamsport with a packed itinerary of visiting 12 schools in four different school districts. According to the press release, Wales teachers noticed that while challenges the schools were facing varied, they had several things in common including a generous welcome to the group, positive and confident energy of staff and students, the investment in school programs and the curiosity to learn more about Wales and its language.
"We are thankful to have this opportunity to welcome our Wales partners to the BLaST Intermediate Unit 17 region," Rebecca Gibboney, BLaST Intermediate Unit 17's director of educational planning and project lead, said in a press release. "As a result of a Taith grant, we have been able to collaborate and connect classrooms and administrators in meaningful conversations around educational practices and systems. We are excited for this partnership to continue and to strengthen connections."
"The success of an international project of this manner is dependent on having a like-minded partner organization overseas that shares the same vision as the sending organization -- one that is equally committed to achieving mutually beneficial goals. BLaST IU17 has surpassed all expectations of an overseas partner," Amanda Morgan, Internaltional Links Global project manager, said in a press release. To use an idiom appropriate for an organization based in the home of Little League baseball -- they have really 'hit it out of the park'!"