The Foreign Service Journal, June 2013

90 JUNE 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT credits will transfer if the student moves between the junior and senior year, and they need to determine what credits and courses remain to meet graduation requirements. The other college preparatory course of study commonly found at American international schools is the Advanced Placement program. AP courses, and the exams, are designed by the College Board in the United States. Some colleges accept AP credits when students meet that college’s grade requirement (usually a score of 4 or 5). Whereas the IB Diploma program involves an integrated group of courses, the AP program consists of a menu of 31 possible courses (not all courses are offered by all schools). Depending on their capacity for hard work, their apti- tude and their interests, a student might choose to take one or more AP courses (rarely more than four or five at a time, however). The line between homeschooling and distance learning and online schools is starting to blur. One point of caution for parents moving with high school students is that it can be very difficult to move from an IB school to a school with AP courses or vice versa—especially between 11th and 12th grades. In some cases, schools will not admit students to an IB program for just one year; in other cases, the course credits do not align, making it difficult to graduate on time. So it’s important to investigate these questions thoroughly before making any decisions about a new assignment. Exceptional Learning Needs Exceptional learners include students with learning differences as well as those who are extraordinarily gifted. Profes- E stablished in 1964, the Office of Overseas Schools coordinates and administers the Department of State’s Overseas Schools Assistance Program. A/OPR/OS works to ensure that the best pos- sible educational opportunities are available for dependents of U.S. government personnel while stationed abroad. While the office’s primary goal in supporting schools abroad is to promote quality, American-style educational opportunities, it also increases mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those from other countries through its assistance to overseas schools by demonstrating American educational ideas, principles and methods. The schools A/OPR/OS assists are independent, nonprofit and nondenominational. In most cases, they were established on a coop- erative basis by U.S. citizens residing in foreign communities. The schools vary widely in historical background, size and complexity, ranging from tiny primary schools with fewer than a dozen students to large K-12 schools with enrollments approaching 4,000. The Department of State does not operate these schools; instead, ownership and policy control are typically in the hands of parent associations that elect school boards. The boards then develop school policies and select administrators, who oversee day-to-day operations. In the 2008-2009 academic year, the State Department assisted 196 schools, and A/OPR/OS publishes a one-page fact sheet on each of them. The office also compiles a CD-ROM of detailed reports on more than 500 preschools, elementary schools and secondary schools. These backgrounders bring together information on course offerings, special programs, programs for children with special needs, extracurricular activities, graduation requirements, etc. This information is available from the Community Liaison Officer at each post and on the A/OPR/OS intranet site. Copies of the CD- ROM are also available to individuals upon request. In addition, A/ OPR/OS maintains a resource center on schools at each post includ- ing yearbooks, newsletters, school profiles and a few videotapes. As all Foreign Service parents know, the quality of education avail- able is a major factor they consider in the bidding process for over- seas assignments. Foreign Service personnel being posted overseas who have school-age children should therefore make A/OPR/OS one of their first points of contact. To reach the Office of Overseas Schools, you can use any of the following methods: Tel: (202) 261-8200 Fax: (202) 261-8224 E-Mail: overseasschools@state.gov Internet: www.state.gov/m/a/os (Contains the list of REOs and their regions) Intranet: http://aopros.a.state.gov (Contains the list of REOs and their regions) Address: 2401 E Street NW (SA-1) Room H328 Washington DC 20241-0003 Resource Center Hours: Monday thru Friday, 8:15 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Excerpted from the article of the same title by Kristin Grasso and Carol Sutherland of the Office of Overseas Schools. The complete article may be accessed online at www.afsa.org/fsj . From the FSJ Education Supplement June 2009 AVital Point of Contact: The Office of Overseas Schools BY KR I ST I N GRASSO AND CAROL SUTHERLAND