At King School, the global education program is dedicated to preparing responsible global citizens by providing students with the mindset, skills, and resources they need to engage actively and ethically in the global community. Through our K-12 curriculum, King Faculty educate students to appreciate their shared humanity while they investigate the world, and recognize their own and others’ perspectives. In the classroom and through experiential cultural, language, and service programs, students develop their understanding of the world and of globalization, so that they can recognize the need for their participation in ethical, cultural, socio-economic, political, scientific, ethnic, religious, and environmental issues.
Grade 8 students at King School role-played as delegates to a United Nations Committee and debated global issues with one another as part of a Model UN simulation in their History class. Under the guidance of Middle School faculty Kenneth Lewis, the activity marked the end of a yearlong study of American foreign policy and the role that the United States plays in the world today.
King student Peri Ferguson '22 was selected from over 500 students to receive a Global Online Academy Citation Award at the Catalyst Conference for her project on extending the life of clothing to reduce global waste. King School is one of 96 schools worldwide that participates in the Global Online Academy (GOA) consortium. The conference, which took place from April 22 to 26, is a virtual event where students in the GOA consortium present their capstone projects on research-based solutions to real-world issues.
As Jackson Rosen '29 jotted down some of his favorite things for his pen pal, Rodrigo, he exclaimed, "I have so many things I want to share, I don't know which ones to pick!" Using a template, Grade 4 students wrote about themselves in Spanish for their pen pals in Malaga, Spain. They shared some of their favorite things, such as their favorite animal, sports, food, color, and celebrations.
Antonia Kolb ’24 and Max Wachter ’24 uncovered some glaring differences and similarities in the King uniform as it has evolved throughout history. While studying fashion in their French Honors class, the two students put together a presentation that relied on past yearbooks and the King School history book “150 Years of Educational Excellence” to research how the past uniforms compare with the uniforms of today.
Grade 2 students participated in a traditional coffee ceremony with the family of King Student Zerai Asefaw '32, whose heritage is from Eritrea. Zerai's grandmother, Neghesty Negusse, was joined by Zerai's father, Dr. Senai Asefaw P'32, to demonstrate each step of the coffee ceremony process, sharing their cultural traditions with the classroom.
As part of King's global education initiative, grade 5 students have been exploring Morocco. Students were introduced to various resources such as books, articles, videos, and photos to begin developing an understanding of the North African country's rich cultural heritage.
"What I like most is that we can pick a topic that we want to learn more about," says Alivia Posta. "When our class started studying ancient China, the first thing that came to mind was their art. I made a connection because I love art and Chinese civilization was one of the first places to make art and pottery," she reports.
From fracking and genome sequencing to military intervention in transnational conflicts, King students practiced the art of debate during Harvard University's annual simulation of the United Nations. "We were very pleased with the performance of our members and we appreciated their commitment throughout this challenging year," said Ava Bussan '21, head delegate and Model UN Club co-president.
Hola! The Spanish class in Grades 1-5 takes a global approach to teaching and learning world languages. Rosalba Santander-Cervantes, World Language Faculty, describes her goal as "empowering students to build the tools necessary to cultivate an understanding, an appreciation, and an interest in Spanish-speaking cultures and peoples. It is by doing so that they can become global citizens."
King School has been working closely with Global Citizen's Initiative (GCI) with a common goal to prepare students to function across cultures, and to become citizens of the world. Four King students participated in the one-year long GCI fellowship since 2015. The fellowship equips young global citizens with the mindset, skills, and resources necessary to become effective and ethical global leaders. This summer, GCI launched its first professional development seminar for educators to learn the GCI method during the GCI Youth Summit. Educators learn to design and implement an ethics-based leadership curriculum grounded on project-and discussion-based methodologies..jpg)
