The superintendents traveled to Finland and Italy from July 2 – 10, 2017. They explored the foundations and future of education with other educators, while immersing themselves in Finnish and Italian culture.
This professional development program was organized by EF Education First in conjunction with their Global Leadership Summit, which included students from all over the world and in which the superintendents participated in Milan. During the Summit, the superintendents heard from world-renowned speakers and attended workshops as they worked together on problem-solving for this year’s theme, the Future of Food.
The winners were selected on the basis of their interest in and commitment to global education initiatives within their state. Each contestant had to submit three 400-word essays addressing: how he/she prepares students to be successful in today’s global society; how he/she promotes global competency and teach 21st Century skills in his/her school district; how he/she will use his/her travel experience to benefit his/her students and community; and how an international education program would benefit his/her school district.
Stephanie Lennon, EF Education First Representative for Strategic Partnerships in Virginia, was instrumental in promoting the competition in Virginia to get a large applicant pool. It was unusual to have four superintendents selected from one state.