World Party: Cultivating a Student's Global

Consciousness
A Seattle school excites students with the promise of an interconnected world.
BY GRACE RUBENSTEIN
VIDEO: Success Spoken Here: Preparing
Citizens of the World Running Time: 9 min.
Editor's Note: Since this article was published in 2006,
principal Karen Kodama moved on to become the director of
international education for Seattle Schools. All of John
Stanford International School's many programs are now
flourishing under the direction of the new principal, Jesely
Alvarez.
Looking out at their students each day, faculty members at
Seattle's John Stanford International School don't see just
baby faces and blank slates: They see future citizens of an
interconnected world.
Whatever livelihoods the students someday choose, Stanford's educators believe they will need to work
with people from different countries, in different languages, in the realms of business, politics, and human
understanding. They will need to forge relationships and solve problems across borders of race, culture,
and geography. Never mind that, at present, some are still riding bikes with training wheels; Stanford
educators believe there is no better time than childhood to start cultivating a student's global
consciousness.
"It's absolutely essential in this global economy that if we want our children to be successful as adults, as
businesspeople, as citizens of the world, they need to have a greater understanding and appreciation of
other languages, of cultures, history, customs, and religions," says former Washington governor Gary
Locke, who would have sent his own children to Stanford if he lived nearby.
The K-5 school delivers three levels of multicultural experience. Starting in kindergarten, students spend
half of each day immersed in the study of either Spanish or Japanese. Second, teachers interweave
global topics through every area of the curriculum. And finally, the school operates a Bilingual Orientation
Center, one of three in the district, where immigrant children learn English until they're ready for regular
school. In three classes -- physical education, art, and music -- those newcomers mingle with their
mainstream peers.
Despite those added challenges, the 400 children at Stanford still learn the basics, consistently scoring
higher than district standards on state tests in reading and math -- the latter taught exclusively in Japanese
or Spanish. Stanford has pursued its mission so successfully since opening in 2000 that Intel and
Scholastic named it the "Best of the Best" elementary school among last year's Schools of Distinction -- in
other words, the best in the country, as identified by the two companies, for "exceptional commitment to
achievement and innovation."
Math and Science Immersed in Japanese and
Spanish
In Maryl ynn Powers's third-grade immersion class, the fruits of
that commitment are obvious. One day last fall , she tested the
water capacity of different soil components -- humus, sand, and
clay -- with six children clustered around her. They watched
intently as she poured water into a cup through a filter packed
with humus, the earthy, organic matrix of soil.
"?Esta sa/iendo?" she asked them. ("Is the water coming out?")
"!Si!" they chorused, without hesitating.
Rainbow Connection: Youngsters from the
John Stanford International School
perform a Chinese ribbon dance at an
after-school event. Credit: Barry Wong
She asked the children, in Spanish, "If we put in 30 milliliters, and there are 28 milliliters in the cup, how
many milliliters stayed in the humus?" Wylie Bourgette, who speaks English at home, stretched up his arm
and bounced up and down, eager to answer. With a nod from Powers, he said, "Dos."
Wylie and his classmates spend half the day with Powers studying science and math in Spanish and half
the day with another teacher learning social studies and language arts in English. Children in the Japanese
program follow a similar routine. The logic in the division of subjects is that social studies are abstract and
difficult to grasp in a foreign language, while math and science are easier to teach by demonstration.
Students whose native tongue is Spanish or Japanese are typically enrolled in immersion in thei r own
language, so even if they spend half the day struggling in English, they always get a chance to be the
experts.
For fourth grader P. J. Vogel , a native English speaker, immersion has made Japanese so familiar, it's
almost mundane. When he speaks it to friends from other schools, he says, "They think I' m crazy. They
think I' m speaking, well , nothing, really -- speaking a different language from a different planet. I think it's
just regular words in Japanese."
Cruise Director: Principal Karen
Kodama, who knows every pupil by
name, addresses parents during a
tour for new students. Credit: Barry
Wong
Multicultural Experiences Schoolwide
Even more varied than the languages spoken at Stanford are the
multicultural lessons, activities, and arts that reach into almost every
corner of the building. In English, the children read folktales from Africa
and South America. In music, they sing harvest songs from around the
world. An annual grant from the Seattle International Children's
Festival, funded by the Washington State Arts Commission, brings
visiting artists, who have taught everything from Cuban dance to West
African batik painting. Parents who have lived or traveled abroad visit
to tell thei r stories, and children celebrate holidays from other
countries, such as Mexico's Dia de los Muertos and Chinese New
Year.
The school has diversity of its own to draw on: Including those in the Bilingual Orientation Center, 27
percent of students at Stanford speak English as a second language, 28 percent qualify for free or
reduced-cost lunch, and fewer than half the students are white. In addition, many teachers are natives of
foreign countries. But the faculty deliberately creates much of the multiculturalism.
Global Citizenship Through Compassion and Service
It's not enough, though, says Principal Karen Kodama, to deluge children with international art projects and
festivals. Central to the Stanford vision is the belief that -- on top of knowledge -- compassion,
acceptance, and a sense of responsibility to the world are essential traits for global citizenshi p. To nurture
those attributes, teachers provide weekly lessons through the Committee for Children's Second Step and
Steps to Respect programs, which focus on empathy, anger management, and prevention of bullying.
Stanford educators take these lessons beyond the theoretical by
involving the children in public service outside the school. Last year, 70
students and parents, at thei r own expense, visited la Escuela Primaria
Juan de la Barrera, a sister school near the city dump in Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico. Using money raised by selling plants students had
grown at Stanford, the parents installed bookshelves and painted walls
while their children attended classes. Kids also send supplies and
exchange emails with a sister school in Tanzania. And when disaster
strikes somewhere, whether it's a tsunami in Southeast Asia or
terrorist attacks in New York City, the children write letters or fill "care"
packages with their own hands.
We Are the World: Parent Carol
Nakagawajoined a crew of70
parents and students for a project
at their sister school in Me.'l."ico.
How the Vision Became a School
Credit: Barry Wong
Stanford is, in one parent's words, "a dream school," but how it got
that way was entirely practical. Grasping the vision of its late namesake, a former Seattle schools
superintendent, Kodama surveyed local parents and business leaders in 1998 about the ideal components
of an international school. The answers: Spanish- and Japanese-language instruction, computer-based
learning, and the study of interpersonal skills and geography.
The University of Washington's Language Learning Center agreed to provide curriculum-development
support and bilingual student interns. Businesses with Seattle ties, including Starbucks Coffee Company,
donated computers and foreign-language books. In addition to the international bent, Stanford emphasizes
technology by helping students use computers for research, presentations, and videoconferencing with
children in other countries. The school has done just what the community asked, and Kodama says that
track record gives Stanford the credibility to ask again for more support.
Better Than Chalk: Kindergartners
practice writing their names in
calligraphy using brushes, ink stone,
and rice paper. Credit: Barry Wong
"You need a lot of energy to do this," Kodama says. "And it starts, I
think, with a leader -- somebody who has that vision and keeps that
vision alive at all times. You have to get out there, you have to
network, and you have to make it known what your school is about. "
By all accounts, Kodama, who serves lunch in the cafeteria daily and
knows every child by name, is the leader she describes.
Parents are a constant presence on campus, helping in classrooms,
running after-school classes, tending the garden. Mary Heim, whose
daughter Emily was in the fi rst kindergarten class to start language
immersion, says parents participate because the atmosphere is
welcoming, and the staff encourages them to contribute ideas.
and rice paper. Credit: Barry Wong
Because the Stanford waiting list has reached 200 children, parents
also are pushing to bring John Stanford's vision to other Seattle schools. At Hamilton International Middle
School, for example, educators help bring the Stanford model -- including immersion -- into the higher
grades. In addition, the community surrounding an elementary school in southern Seattle, though not as far
along as Hamilton, is eager to adopt the international worldview. Judging by the number of out-of-state
and foreign educators making pilgrimages to Stanford -- tour groups come through nearly weekly -- other
schools may follow.
"International education is not just for these lucky 400 kids," Kodama says. "It should be for all children,
because if we' re preparing our children for the future, this is what they need."
Running Head: GLOBAL ARTICLE 1






Global Article Reaction Paper
Sarah Hernandez
Azusa Pacific University






Running Head: GLOBAL ARTICLE 2

The article World Party: Cultivating a Students Global Consciousness, by Grace
Rubenstein, explains about the need for students to be global partners at a young age. According
to Rubenstein (2006), a survey from parents in the community about what they wanted in an
international school revealed that they wanted Spanish and Japanese language instruction,
computer based learning and the study of interpersonal skills and geography. From this the
school was launched.
First of all, Rubenstein (2006) states that according to Karen Kodama, the director at the
time, this type of school shouldnt just be for the fortunate 400 who attend John Stanford
International School. This is true, I believe this type of education should be a right for all. Every
teacher has the ability to impact her students for the better and for the benefit of the world. Just
because a teacher has thirty three students and few technological devices doesnt mean change
cant happen. Kodama was right when she stated, this kind of vision starts with a leader. When
teachers are motivated and given the know how to incorporate something new, transformation is
possible. The question is, how we as every day, normal, public school educators bring the world
to our students?
Lastly, Rubenstein (2006), explains that these students participate in a Steps to Respect
program that encourages empathy and preventing bullying. This tools helps encourage
acceptance of differences around the world and ultimately within our own walls. Through this
program, students often create care packages for those less fortunate or letters of encouragement
for those affected by disasters. What if my school was transformed by a lunch table named join
us? Or a simple center for students to assemble gallon bags of hygiene items and collect items
of need for sister classes around the world? I want my students to have a role model, not just a
teacher. Change is possible and I trust that our schools, my school, has the potential to change.
Running Head: GLOBAL ARTICLE 3

References
Rubenstein, G. (2006, March 1). World party: Cultivating a students global consciousness [Web
log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/world-party