Just yesterday, Replications and Global LAB held the 4^th and final orientation session for students participating in the International Leadership Program traveling to Dharamsala, India just one week from today! Staff and students reviewed the itinerary, the health and safety guidelines, and the cultural and group norms to ensure that they are ready to embark on their adventure. Afterwards, the group had a celebratory dinner at Tsampa, a Tibetan restaurant, where the owners gave everyone Kata scarves to wish them safe travels.

Visit the program blog to keep track of their journey and read postings by the students from before, during, and following the trip.

If you would like to make a donation to support the program, do so by clicking Donate Now on this website or mailing your donation to Replications, Inc. 292 Fifth Avenue, 4^th Floor, NY, NY 10001. Please designate your gift “International Leadership”. Thank you to everyone who has shown support.

International Leadership Program students practice sitting meditation at the Shambala Center

For the past five months Replications has been piloting our International Leadership Program.

This program, run in collaboration with Global Learning Across Borders, is providing 14 high school students from 5 of our network schools a hands-on learning and leadership experience in Dharamsala, India this summer. For most of these students, who were selected through a competitive application process, it will be their first time out of the country.

Students have been participating in orientation sessions exploring global citizenship and learning about the history, politics, religion, culture and languages they will encounter in India.

From July 9^th-July 23^rd students will travel to Dharamsala, India where they will engage in home stays with local families, service learning, and get hands-on exposure to the local culture. When they return home, students will present to their school communities and will produce essays for college applications.

Students are responsible for raising $1,000 each towards their travel costs, and have received a sponsorship from their schools and a generous donation from Global LAB. However, we still need to raise approximately $20,000 to cover the remaining student and program costs. 

At Replications we believe deeply that students are global citizens and that international travel has the power to transform young people’s lives.

To support the International Leadership Program, make an online donation by clicking Donate Now on this website. Or you can send a check to Replications, 292 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10001. Please designate your gift “International Leadership.” Your contribution is 100% tax-deductible.

Thanks so much for your continued support,

The Replications Team

And don’t forget to check our program blog for student reflections on these experiences.

Last week, Replications brought all the schools in our NYC network together for our annual overnight Spring Planning Retreat at the Tarrytown House and Estate. The retreat provides a unique opportunity for principals and their teams of teachers to meet, away from the distractions of their schools and the city, to begin planning for the coming school year, as well as, network with other schools.

Here’s what a couple principals had to say:

“As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the retreat, and found it to be EXACTLY what the Dr. ordered for our team and the transitions we will all be making.

-Rebekah Marler, Principal, P.S. 50 Vito Marcantonio, New York, New York

“[The Spring Planning Retreat] is a wonderful opportunity that Replications offers us to network, review, plan, and analyze student work and data. It is a golden moment for us to come together as professionals. Without these retreats, I truly believe that we would not be able to perform and be as successful as we have been since joining Replications 3 years ago.”

-Dr. Ramon Namnun, Principal, High School of World Cultures, Bronx, New York

Last month, Replications was fortunate enough to learn about the good work being done by The Dictionary Project, a nonprofit based in South Carolina whose mission is to donate a dictionary to every elementary student in the nation. Lofty as this goal may seem, nearly 12.5 million dictionaries have been donated through the generosity of sponsors. With access to a personal dictionary, students are able to increase their vocabulary to excel at reading and writing. In return, the organization asks only for a brief thank you note from the students, which acts as a receipt.

Two Replications supported elementary schools, P.S. 15 Jackie Robinson and P.S. 50 Vito Marcantonio, were given dictionaries for their entire third grade class.

For more information please visit The Dictionary Project.

Congratulations to Mott Hall Science & Technology Academy (MHSTA) for being selected by the Department of Education’s Office of Accountability and Assessment for a pilot program to create a resource guide for working with data. Still in its first year, the school is doing a tremendous job of collecting, analyzing, and using data to improve teaching and learning. MHSTA will provide the Department with the resources it uses to create a sucessful culture of data driven instruction. With all the emphasis the Department puts on working with data, this is impressive.