The Principals Academy on Internationalizing their K-12 Schools, aims to fill the existing gap among practitioners about what internationalization of education at school level entails. To meet this goal, principals will be involved in four activities: A Summer Institute, bi-monthly virtual meetings, professional learning communities/networks, and an International Fair.

The Summer Institute consists of sessions that develop the necessary knowledge and practices to internationalize schools through curriculum and pedagogy, create home-school connections by leveraging diversity from schools and communities, expand foreign language learning, and promote professional development of their teachers by encouraging international experiences and global learning. The sessions are led by in- and out-of-state experts and guest speakers on those issues.

During the Fall and Spring semesters, four bi-monthly virtual meetings are organized. These meetings are for the principals to discuss ways in which they are applying what they learned about internationalizing their schools during the Summer Institutes, exchange experiences and ideas for internationalization, and receive ongoing support and guidance from internationalization experts.

Professional learning communities/networks are built when the principals engage and interact in discussions with each other and the internationalization experts. This discussion and community building results in more opportunities to share best practices in internationalization between schools and principals, and the emergence of a state-wide network of schools that have a common goal of internationalizing Indiana’s schools.

At the end of the Spring semester, all the participants share their projects during an International Fair.

This initiative is currently funded by a grant from the Longview Foundation and in collaboration with Indiana Department of Education and the Title VI Centers (Center for the Study of the Middle East, East Asian Studies Center, Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center, and Russian and East European Institute) at IU’s School of Global and International Studies.