News > Local State
The Independence Charter School Is Recognized For International Education
By Erin Maguire, The Bulletin
Independence Charter School in Center City was the first charter school in the nation to win the Goldman Sachs Foundation’s elementary school/middle school category prize for Excellence in International Education.
The school was honored with a $25,000 award at the Asia Society’s New York City headquarters yesterday. Locally, the school’s 732 students heard the announcement on their school playground yesterday morning.
The Asia Society is a global organization that works to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among civilians, leaders and institutions of Asia and America.
A national competition that began in 2003, the Goldman Sachs International Education Award recognizes outstanding schools and educational organizations that promote cultural awareness, world history and a global curriculum. One prize is given to one public or private school in the elementary category annually.
The Goldman Sachs Foundation’s mission is to promote excellence and innovation in education worldwide.
“This is great news for the students, parents, teachers and board members of Independence Charter,” Jurate Krokys, CEO and founding principal of the school, said of the award. “It is validation for our hard work these past eight years bringing a challenging world-class curriculum to an urban public charter school.”
Ms. Krokys noted the students at Independence Charter come from 44 zip codes in Philadelphia through a lottery — “and we prove that they not only deserve excellence in education but also that they can accomplish it.”
“This award will help raise awareness about the unique urban educational model we’ve developed and enable us to share our practices with other schools and educators, thereby benefiting even more urban students,” she added.
Stephanie Bell-Rose, president of The Goldman Sachs Foundation, related the economy to the significance of the award.
“Given the current financial situation, our students will need a new set of skills to succeed — they will need to be internationally fluent, compassionate, and comprehensive,” she said. “These award recipients are equipping the next generation of leaders with the critical international knowledge and skills they will need to lead successfully in our global society.”
Vishakha N. Desai, president of Asia Society, said international education has gained added importance with the recent globalization push.
“The prizes program is helping leaders rethink what it means to be an educated American in the 21st century,” she said. “In a global age, diverse countries and cultural groups will be responsible for building the foundation for a shared future. While we are delighted by these innovations to build an internationally literate citizenry, the pace of change must now be scaled up by decision-makers at all levels.”
Founded in 2001, Independence Charter School combines two second-language programs with an interdisciplinary curriculum including world cultures, traditions, literature, geography, economics and history.
Students are instructed in Spanish, Japanese and Arabic and, in addition to studying American history, they learn about important world regions.
The school also collaborates with iEARN (International Education and Research Network), in which fourth and fifth grade teachers are piloting online projects connecting students to peers in other countries to promote global citizenship.
Independence has partnerships with the Greater Philadelphia International Visitor Council, the Painted Bride Arts Center, The National Resource Centers at the University of Pennsylvania and is a candidate for a partnership with the Embassy of Spain to provide support for its Spanish program.
The school is also associated with two schools in Uruguay through projects and teacher exchanges.
Erin Maguire can be reached at emaguire@thebulletin.us
The school was honored with a $25,000 award at the Asia Society’s New York City headquarters yesterday. Locally, the school’s 732 students heard the announcement on their school playground yesterday morning.
The Asia Society is a global organization that works to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among civilians, leaders and institutions of Asia and America.
A national competition that began in 2003, the Goldman Sachs International Education Award recognizes outstanding schools and educational organizations that promote cultural awareness, world history and a global curriculum. One prize is given to one public or private school in the elementary category annually.
The Goldman Sachs Foundation’s mission is to promote excellence and innovation in education worldwide.
“This is great news for the students, parents, teachers and board members of Independence Charter,” Jurate Krokys, CEO and founding principal of the school, said of the award. “It is validation for our hard work these past eight years bringing a challenging world-class curriculum to an urban public charter school.”
Ms. Krokys noted the students at Independence Charter come from 44 zip codes in Philadelphia through a lottery — “and we prove that they not only deserve excellence in education but also that they can accomplish it.”
“This award will help raise awareness about the unique urban educational model we’ve developed and enable us to share our practices with other schools and educators, thereby benefiting even more urban students,” she added.
Stephanie Bell-Rose, president of The Goldman Sachs Foundation, related the economy to the significance of the award.
“Given the current financial situation, our students will need a new set of skills to succeed — they will need to be internationally fluent, compassionate, and comprehensive,” she said. “These award recipients are equipping the next generation of leaders with the critical international knowledge and skills they will need to lead successfully in our global society.”
Vishakha N. Desai, president of Asia Society, said international education has gained added importance with the recent globalization push.
“The prizes program is helping leaders rethink what it means to be an educated American in the 21st century,” she said. “In a global age, diverse countries and cultural groups will be responsible for building the foundation for a shared future. While we are delighted by these innovations to build an internationally literate citizenry, the pace of change must now be scaled up by decision-makers at all levels.”
Founded in 2001, Independence Charter School combines two second-language programs with an interdisciplinary curriculum including world cultures, traditions, literature, geography, economics and history.
Students are instructed in Spanish, Japanese and Arabic and, in addition to studying American history, they learn about important world regions.
The school also collaborates with iEARN (International Education and Research Network), in which fourth and fifth grade teachers are piloting online projects connecting students to peers in other countries to promote global citizenship.
Independence has partnerships with the Greater Philadelphia International Visitor Council, the Painted Bride Arts Center, The National Resource Centers at the University of Pennsylvania and is a candidate for a partnership with the Embassy of Spain to provide support for its Spanish program.
The school is also associated with two schools in Uruguay through projects and teacher exchanges.
Erin Maguire can be reached at emaguire@thebulletin.us
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