Loyola School Monthly Newsletter Issue #1 October 2016 LOYOLA SCHOOL REDEFINES “GLOBAL” EDUCATION: Many schools across the nation have introduced exchange programs to expose their students to a more global perspective on issues. Loyola School, however, has moved far beyond student exchanges in its quest to deliver a Global Education to their students. In fact, the NY-based Jesuit high school is in the process of transforming its entire curriculum to accomplish it. No other Jesuit high school in the U.S is doing this, and very few (if any) public or private high schools have immersed themselves this deeply in a quest to provide a Global Education. Loyola School’s “Global Initiative” venture is a 3-5 year program whose goal is to create a “globally competent” graduate who “demonstrates empathy and a complex understanding of the world from multiple perspectives; seeking to critically understand and take action on global issues through collaboration, perseverance, and problem solving.” Each year of study focuses on a separate theme:
Freshmen – Identity: Culture and Self Sophomores - Sustainability: Environmental Juniors – Human Rights Senior – Taking Action: Citizenship and Advocacy
The school has already begun introducing these elements into the curriculum. For ex., for juniors, the English, History and Language departments are doing an interdisciplinary project on Native Americana. For seniors, an interdisciplinary project involving the History and Biology departments focuses on the "Dirty War" in Argentina. In the project the AP Biology class and the Forensics elective class will study the use of DNA in identifying the children of the "desaparecidos," the disappeared parents whose children were adopted by their torturers. More global elements will be introduced each semester, as will partnerships with community groups and individuals to serve as guest speakers and mentors. Each issue of the Loyola School newsletter will contain updates about this “Global Initiative”.