Sparc e learning module
- 1. U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE Bureau of Educational and Cultural Af Welcome to SPARC! Secondary School Program Annual Renewal of Certification Introduction Public Diplomacy Exchange Visitor Program Secondary School Student Program Local Coordinators Assessment Instructions
- 2. U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE Bureau of Educational and Cultural Af Introduction Thank you for your commitment and interest in the Secondary School Student Program. While you have received primary training from your organization, all Local Coordinators (also known as Area Reps, Volunteers, and in some unique cases Responsible Officers) must also successfully complete this annual U.S. Department of State mandated Training Module. You will be certified for 365 days after completion of the course. Successful completion is required for U.S. Department of State certification as a Local Coordinator. After completion, please print out a copy of your certificate so that your organization can have it on file. Who Should Be Certified? All U.S. based sponsor organizational officers, employees, representatives, agents, and volunteers tasked with core responsibilities that require contact with exchange students (e.g. placement and/or relocation of students, orientation of students, monitoring of students, etc.) must be certified as set forth in §62.25(d) (1). These individuals shall be referred to henceforth as “users.” Your work is extremely important. You are a part of Public Diplomacy. As a Local Coordinator, you will be responsible for successfully placing exchange students in American homes and schools and for monitoring the students’ safety and progress during their stay in the United States. You play an important role in what makes the Secondary School Student Program a success and, are accordingly, taking on a great responsibility. The positive, long term impact to the foreign relations of the United States of successful exchange programs cannot be overstated. Your performance as a Local Coordinator will directly impact the way other peoples and countries view and deal with the United States. Next, you will find a description of the U.S. Department of State’s Exchange Visitor Program, the Secondary School Student Program and its public diplomacy objectives. This information will provide you a strong grounding in the program’s objectives and purpose and will help you be a successful Local Coordinator. Please take time to read these sections carefully. The text of the regulations for the administration of the Secondary School program can be found at 22 CFR Part 62 (see links below). You will be tested on the content provided in the links below. Though your Sponsor Organization is responsible for your training, the links to the regulations are as follows: Title 22: Foreign Relations Part 62 – Exchange Visitor Program Subpart A: §62.1 through §62.17 Subpart B: §62.25
- 3. U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE Bureau of Educational and Cultural Af What is Public Diplomacy? As traditionally used, the term “diplomacy” refers to government to government relations (e.g., an American diplomat discusses an issue officially with a Chinese diplomat). Much newer, however, is the practice of “Public Diplomacy,” where the U.S. Government seeks to directly engage the people of another country. Public Diplomacy emerged as an important tool of American foreign policy during the Cold War. During that period, the United States brought foreign students, professors, and political and business leaders to the United States for educational and cultural exchanges on the Exchange Visitor Program. By experiencing American society and culture, many of these foreign students and leaders developed positive impressions of the American system, which they shared with their fellow countrymen upon returning home. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Public Diplomacy took on new importance as American foreign policy actively sought to improve the image of the United States abroad, especially among young people. Educational exchanges, long recognized as one of the best ways to build positive impressions of the United States among the youth of another country, moved to the forefront of the U.S. Department of State’s Public Diplomacy efforts. Central to this emergence of Public Diplomacy as a major tool of American foreign policy is the belief that citizens of other countries would generally have positive view of the United States if only they knew more about the American people. This assumption turns out to be true. Major research institutes consistently demonstrate that people from other countries who come to the United States are far more likely to have a positive impression of both the United States and the American people. In one particular study, the Travel Industry Association’s research arm, the Discover America Partnership, found that those who have visited the United States are 74% more likely to have a favorable opinion of America and Americans, and 66% of those who have visited are more likely to be supportive of U.S. policies. Similarly, a 2008 report entitled The Decline in America’s Reputation: Why? by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight found that international visitors to the United States “have more positive views about America and Americans than non-visitors by approximately 10 percentage points.”
- 4. U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE Bureau of Educational and Cultural Af What is Public Diplomacy? Secondary School Student Program exchanges help to improve America’s image abroad. The great majority of exchange students who come to the United States to attend high school enjoy a positive life changing experience, grow in independence and maturity, improve their English language skills, and build relationships with American citizens. These students will share with their fellow citizens their impressions of America when they return home. This is the core of Public Diplomacy and the reason that the Department of State conducts these types of educational exchanges. For these reasons, it is important that every exchange student have a positive experience and a successful program. While most exchange students generally return home with a favorable impression of the United States, the Public Diplomacy of the United States can be damaged when a student develops negative feelings toward the United States or the American people. Much of the responsibility to ensure a successful program for each exchange student falls on you, the Local Coordinator.
- 5. U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE Bureau of Educational and Cultural Af What is the Exchange Visitor Program? The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 authorizes the U.S. Department of State to conduct educational exchange programs. Many of these programs fall under the Department’s Exchange Visitor Program, which uses the J1 visa to bring people from other countries to the United States for temporary study and work- related educational opportunities. The U.S Department of State both creates and enforces the federal regulations governing the Exchange Visitor Program. The department also designates U.S. organizations (known as sponsors) to conduct exchange visitor programs. These sponsors – and all Local Coordinators – are required to follow the federal regulations.
- 6. U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE Bureau of Educational and Cultural Af Secondary School Student Program Begun in 1949, the Secondary School Student Program is one of the oldest and most successful Exchange Visitor Programs and is a cornerstone of the United States’ Public Diplomacy efforts. The Secondary School Student Program offers an opportunity of a lifetime to young people from around the world to study in an American high school, improve their English, and make lifelong American friends. How does the Secondary School Student Program Operate? The U.S. Department of State requires all Secondary School Student Program sponsors to be nonprofit organizations to ensure that this important Public Diplomacy activity retains its volunteer spirit. These sponsors contract with foreign partners (international nonprofit organizations, student recruiting agencies, or affiliate organizations of the U.S. sponsor) in other countries to recruit local exchange students to apply for participation in the Secondary School Student Program. Foreign partners then collect application information from the potential exchange students, verify their eligibility for participation, and provide this information to the U.S. sponsor. The U.S. sponsor is responsible for the selection (or acceptance) of each potential exchange student for participation in the Secondary School Student Program. Screening and selection by the U.S. sponsor includes a review of the student application and an interview to test the student’s ability in English, maturity, and readiness to participate in the exchange program. The sponsor is also responsible for the school enrollment, orientation, and monitoring of exchange students. U.S. sponsors are also responsible for the screening, selection, orientation, and quality assurance monitoring of host families and field staff. Once fully screened and selected by the U.S. sponsor for participation, an exchange student is provided the Form DS- 2019, Certificate of Eligibility. This Form enables the exchange student to apply for a J1 visa at a United States Embassy or Consulate abroad. The exchange student uses both the Form DS2019 and J1 visa, which is affixed to their passport, to gain entry into the United States and begin their exchange program.
- 7. U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE Bureau of Educational and Cultural Af What is the Role of the Local Coordinator? As a Local Coordinator, you will be entrusted to carry out many of the responsibilities of the U.S. sponsor. For this reason, your work is critical to making each exchange program a success. Specifically, you will recruit appropriate potential host families. You will help these families complete their host family applications. The U.S. sponsor you work for will vet each potential host family you recruit and then select or deny the family for participation in the program. U.S. sponsors ultimately determine whether or not a family may participate in the program. You will also be provided the profiles of fully selected exchange students. You will match these students, as best as you can, with the host families you have recruited and that have been fully vetted and selected for participation. Please note that you may only show student photographs and personal information to host families that have been fully vetted and selected for participation in the program by the U.S. sponsor. Placing an exchange student with a host family is the most important stage of the Secondary School Student program. Exchange students matched with host families who are a good fit are likely to have successful exchange programs. Importantly, you will also serve as the exchange students’ advocate and a major link in their support system while they are in the United States. You are required to maintain monthly contact with each of your exchange students and to address problems they bring to your attention.
- 8. U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE Bureau of Educational and Cultural Af Assessment Instructions 1. Close this training module and you will be prompted to take the accompanying assessment. 2. Clicking ‘Yes’ will redirect you to the Assessment information page. 3. Click ‘Start Assessment’ to take the assessment. 4. You must complete the assessment in its entirety to get credit.