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As a parent, teacher and Vermonter I am
delighted to introduce you to Vermont Intercultural Semesters (VIS), a
groundbreaking, affordable educational opportunity abroad for Vermont high
school students. Successfully launched in 2005, VIS in
Ladakh, India is a fully accredited
semester of rigorous study - and, more importantly, largely self sustaining
financially.
In these globally tense times, it is
imperative to create mutually beneficial connections between the
young people of this world. VIS will do just that, pairing
Vermont high school juniors with their Ladakhi peers for a semester
at a boarding school in Ladakh, a former Buddhist Kingdom in the
Himalaya that is now part of India.
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Another unique aspect of VIS is
its focus on an underserved population in Vermont: eager,
motivated students who, having taken advantage of all the
opportunities offered by their schools, are often left
unchallenged in the last years of high school.
There are excellent semester programs for these "hungry"
high school juniors and seniors, but most of these are far
too expensive for many Vermont students - and many also do
not offer acceptable academic credits. That means that
a
semester of growth and learning abroad just isn't an option for the
majority of Vermont students. That's why VIS has created a high school semester program for
Vermont high school students that is rigorous, accredited and affordable. |
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 VIS semesters
are currently in Ladakh; in subsequent years we hope to
expand VIS to
other countries as well. We believe that VIS
semester programs developed here in Vermont will be an important model for
high school leaders from all over our country as America becomes ever more
interconnected with people and cultures around the globe.
The first Vermont Intercultural Studies (VIS) high school semester took
place in Ladakh, India, in spring, 2005. Planning for this educational
opportunity for Vermont students has been in the works since June, 2001. Six
educators and seven students from Vermont spent that month in Ladakh as part
of the VT/Ladakh Pilot Project. Our research included living and working
with Buddhist and Muslim students and teachers in dormitories at the
Himalayan campus of the
Students Educational & Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL).
We also spent time in the capitol city of Leh developing the VIS curriculum.
The Pilot demonstrated that, given low program costs in India and the
availability of part of the yearly state block grant for each student's
education in Vermont, an affordable semester program for Vermont students in
the Himalayan
mountains was not only feasible, but even richer in possibilities than we
had expected. Successful semesters in Spring 2005, Spring 2006 and
Fall 2006, confirmed the
possibilities we saw and have provided a sound basis for our current semester in
Spring 2007, and for subsequent semesters to follow.
 VIS provides a place-based curriculum that creates a
community of students and teachers that work together academically, and
which strives to understand issues important to Vermonters such as
community, sustainability and spirit of place. The VIS academic program is
accredited by
The Sharon Academy in Sharon, VT, an
acclaimed 7-12 independent school that is part of the nationwide
Coalition of
Essential Schools (CES). VIS also offers
cultural immersion, connecting Vermonters and Ladakhis on a peer-to-peer
basis, working and learning from each other: in classrooms, and in joint
field-based studies; on the upkeep of the solar-powered school campus in
Ladakh; and in the close-knit communities of Himalayan villages where
Vermont students have the opportunity to stay in the homes of their Ladakhi
peers.
Please browse this website to get a sense of what VIS is. If you would
like a brochure, please
contact us
and ask us to mail you one. We'd appreciate any feed back at
info@vermontis.org.
Many thanks for taking a look!
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