With the world as their classroom, students at the CREC Metropolitan Learning Center for Global and International Studies prepare for success in college and careers in the global workforce. Much of the education in the school's specially designed global-systems curriculum takes place beyond the classroom through an extensive study and travel abroad program. Two teachers from the CREC Metropolitan Learning Center have been selected to expand their own skills and knowledge through summer global learning opportunities.

Library Media Specialist, Suzanne Artis has been accepted as a participant in the 2013 Yale University- PIER Summer Institute "Global Youth in the Digital Age." The institute, July 8 through 12, explored, in depth, how technology and increased connectivity supports youth's civic dynamism and social engagement as well as their perception of citizenship and responsibility. The program focuses especially on the emerging countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, and China and the promise technology offers to classrooms worldwide.

 Cultural exchanges, increased access to information, interdisciplinary and globalized projects, and online education are all transforming our notion of what school should be, as well as how students from around the world can interact and learn. Ms. Artis will be bringing back a wealth of new knowledge and materials to help the CREC Metropolitan Learning Center continue to develop its Global & International Studies theme. Ms. Artis will present a teacher professional development workshop on the digital resources she experiences through the institute.

International Baccalaureate Coordinator and Humanities Department Chair, Caryn Stedman was selected as one of 20 educators nationwide to participate in the Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF) July 13 through 27, Study Tour. Teachers visited Istanbul, Canakkale (Gallipoli & Troy), Bursa, Kusadasi (Ephesus), Pamukkale (Hierapolis), Konya (site of atal Hyk and the ancient Hittite and Phrygian kingdoms), Goreme (Cappadocia), and Ankara, following a program that highlights the cultural and historical sites of the regions they visit. Turkish teachers from these regions will also participate in the study tours, when the American teachers visit their region.

Mrs. Stedman has already made contacts with International Baccalaureate Schools in Istanbul to lay the groundwork for creating a sister school relationship. She will present to all CREC Metropolitan Learning Center students on Turkey as well as at a teacher professional development workshop. She plans to develop a sixth grade unit on a Neolithic settlement near Konya, update the seventh grade unit on the Silk Road with materials from the western end of the historic trade route, and the eighth grade unit on the European Union and the question of Turkey. In addition, she will update units in U.S. and world history on the importance of Turkey.