Our first group was multinational and consisted of delegates from Barbados, Cameroon, Philippines, Tajikistan, and Vietnam with the goal to explore Elementary & Secondary School Issues.
Delegates met with the Escambia County PTA and discussed strategies for parental involvement. Special education was introduced through a visit to the Lacey A. Collier Sensory Center, and concept mapping was covered at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. They made school presentations at Episcopal Day School, attended the community celebration welcoming the king and queen of Spain to Pensacola, and enjoyed home hospitality dinners. Bradley Proctor, retired principal of the Episcopal Day School, lunched with the group at Jackson's to discuss educational administration issues. They were welcomed to the area by Commissioner Gene Valentino & discussed further challenges with Superintendent of Schools Malcolm Thomas.
On their second day, they explored agricultural science at Tate High School with the FAA; and then at Pensacola High School they explored diversity, English as a Second Language, career academies, and the International Baccalaureate Program. On Saturday, the group joined Andrew Neyman and Boy Scout Troop 10 at Andrew's Eagle Scout Project where they cleared light brush, raked, and shoveled alongside other volunteers. In between, they found time to go shopping at Joe Patti's, Target, Publix, and Winn Dixie --- all in three days! They ended their time at a Mardi Gras parade where, although at first hesitant, they quickly caught bead fever.
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