Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council

(Above) At Northwest Florida State College

PROGRAM BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Education is always an important topic on national agendas, and this is particularly true at present in Kyrgyzstan. After many years of mixed reforms following the fall of the Soviet Union, the country is embarking on a new grand strategy for education, with a new Minister of Education who is open to possibilities for international cooperation and assistance in this effort. In that connection, this project brought four Kyrgyz educational officials to the U.S. to learn about the organization and management of educational systems in this country, with a particular focus on higher education. 

The Department of State outlined the following specific objectives for this program:

• To provide participants with a broad overview of education in the U.S., focusing on the decentralized nature of educational policymaking and policy implementation; funding; and curricular decision-making, particularly at the level of higher education;
• To allow participants to visit college and university campuses and to meet administrators, faculty and staff of state, private, and religious institutions;
• To acquaint participants with the college admissions process, and the importance to the process of such elements as high school advising, standardized testing, public and private financial aid;
• To allow participants to visit elementary, middle and/or secondary schools, and to learn  about school funding, school boards, PTAs and other mechanisms that support schools in the U.S.; and
• To acquaint participants with issues currently being debated in U.S. educational circles, and proposed approaches to resolving them.

Sue Halfhill, Director of the Technology and Professional Service Careers at Pensacola Junior College (PJC), organized a morning for the group to visit PJC.   Rebecca Causey, Carolyn Formsma, Travis Herr, and Mike Cannon shared information about PJC’s continuing education, adult basic education, and professional service careers and technology programs.  Angie Jones spoke the group about student government and student leadership.

Bridgette Price next met with the visitors to introduce the Gulf Coast Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and to highlight this partnership between PJC and the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.  This was followed by a visit to Northwest Florida State College, where Dean Brian Shonk and Sean Lynch spoke about the school’s Criminal Justice, Emergency Administration, and the Emergency Technician Programs.  The delegates observed students on the firing range and in a defensive tactics class and also visited the college’s facilities for firefighting training.

University President Judy Bense, along with Angela McCorvey, welcomed the group to the University of West Florida where they spent a day interacting with several members of the faculty, administration, and student body.  These included Rita Crider, Rick Harper, Michelle Williams, Greg Lanier, Peter Metarko, Cathy Brown, Martha Blodgett, John R. Todorovich, Chula King, Jack Azzaretto, Jane Halonen, Richard Hough, David Algeo, and John Todorovich.  Our council extends a special thank you to Dr. McCorvey for organizing this fruitful day and for including two Russian-speaking students at the appointments to answer the visitors’ questions on student life.

At the Escambia County Extension office, Pamela Allen, Elizabeth Bolles, Andrew Diller, Libbie Johnson, and Carrie Stevenson elaborated on the county’s relationship to the University of Florida and how practical “how to” education is offered for adults based on university research.

The final activity in town was coordinated through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) by Amy Baldwin Moss and incorporated teen volunteers from Chain Reaction as well as environmentalists from the DEP.  These two groups described their work to the Kyrgyzstanis and then all three groups worked side-by-side planting grasses at Project Greenshores.  Thank you to Penelope Bishop, Zach Shang, Nicole Hetzel, Shawn Davis, and our fantastic four Chain Reaction teens for a job well done!

Thank you also to Allan & Andrea Ford and to Jack & Cookie Kichler for hosting our visitors to dinner in their homes and to Mayor Mike Wiggins for meeting with the group, showing them Pensacola hospitality, and bestowing upon them honorary citizenship with the city.

To see more delegation photos, go to www.flickr.com/photos/gccdc.

To view upcoming events, visit our calendar or become one of the "Fans of the Gulfcoast Citizen Diplomacy Council" on Facebook to see how you can become involved.