www.oneworldeducation.org

Explore, Learn, Share, Teach

…

One World Education

Monday, October 26, 2009Eric GoldsteinOne World EducationExecutive Director 1678 Oak St. NWWashington, DC 20010Eric@oneworldeducation.org(202) 558-8899Ms. Bea TijerinaVice President of RPCV/wReturned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington DCP.O Box 66101Washington, DC 20035Dear Ms. Tijerina and RPCV Community,One World Education (OWEd) is a DC-based nonprofit organization with a mission to promote literacy,global awareness, and meaningful citizenship for DC students in their schools and communities. Our organization and Schools Program was created when I was a DC, public high school teacher and our model was greatly influenced by the Peace Corps World Wise Schools Curriculum. Our team feels wewould be an ideal partner for the Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington DC Partnership for PeaceProgram. In the past month, our impact on local education has been the focus of a CBS News andVerizon News story.

The Need for One World Education:

One World Education is addressing the need of Literacy Enhancement and Student Engagement in DCschools and communities. The 2006 High School Survey of Student Engagement shows that 67% of high school students disengage from the learning process on a daily basis. Washington DC wasdescribed in a Johns Hopkins study as a “drop-out factory.” In the District, 70% of African Americanmales never graduate from high school and the district-wide graduation rate is a mere 49%. Keepingstudents engaged in the learning process and in school addresses a root cause of these problems. Theneed for a different, relevant and engaging approach to classroom learning is clear, and this is the origin,mission and vision of One World Education.

OWEd History:

I created One World Education in 2007 while I was teaching middle and high school at the SEED PublicCharter School. Based on the World Wise Program model of curriculum developed around the writingof Peace Corps alumni, another teacher and I started building curriculum around the reflective writing of students I led programs with in Zambia and Greece. The literacy skills of student authors improvedthrough an editing process and from increased writing as students were empowered to share their ownideas and experiences. Levels of engagement increased because students were better able to relate toinformation from people their own age. Other teachers utilizing this early model of the OWEdcurriculum saw direct results in student achievement inside and outside their classrooms.