CIEE Awards Nearly 400 Scholarships to Help High School Students Study Abroad in Global Navigator Program’s First Year
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CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange today announced it has awarded 391 Global Navigator scholarships totaling more than $1.6 million to high school students to study abroad in summer 2015, the program’s pilot year.
Forty-one high schools in six states were selected as Global Navigator schools, qualifying them for scholarships that enable their students to participate in summer study abroad programs. Schools were selected through a competitive assessment of their commitment to foreign-language acquisition and global education. Global Navigator schools provide rigorous, integrated, and globally focused academic programs, while serving students from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds. In fact, 48 percent of 2015 Global Navigator scholarship recipients are students from diverse backgrounds.
“Leaders of the country’s most globally minded secondary schools are striving to combine rigorous academic programs with experiential learning, which can happen only when students have the opportunity to study abroad,” said James P. Pellow, Ed.D., president and chief executive officer of CIEE. “The Global Navigator Scholarship program recognizes exemplary schools, then enables them to enhance student learning by providing real-world experiences for students who would not otherwise be able to study abroad. It levels the playing field for students from all backgrounds.”
The student scholarship recipients, known as Global Navigators, will each take part in one of 30 four-week language, culture, and leadership programs this summer in one of 16 locations around the world. Students were selected using criteria spanning merit, financial need, and passion for meaningful cross-cultural exchange. In total, 70 percent of students in the pilot enrolled in language programs, 15 percent in service programs, and 15 percent in content area studies.
CIEE Global Navigator scholarships are made possible by a generous endowment from donor Sheron Long, former CEO of Hampton-Brown, a pre-K through grade 12 education publisher of language and literacy materials. The intent of the awards is to increase the number of high school students who study abroad by making the experience more financially accessible.
“The goal of the CIEE Global Navigator program is to prepare students to navigate across languages, connect with cultures, and develop global competencies for thriving in today’s interconnected world,” said Ms. Long.
Based on the success of the pilot, CIEE is expanding the program to create opportunities for more high school students to study abroad and become Global Navigators.