PASCH Program Benefits German Language Programs

From http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/09__Language__Study__Exchange/01/04/PASCH.html

Promoting German-language education around the world is a central priority of Germany’s Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy. To this end, the Federal Foreign Office in 2008 launched the “Schools: Partners for the Future” initiative, known as PASCH (for Partner Schulen), with the goal of establishing and developing a global network of partner schools with a close connection to Germany.

The PASCH initiative offers multiple incentives to students, as well as support for innovative approaches to teaching at its member schools. Schools may receive resources such as teaching materials or new equipment. Students may take part in special exchange programs, and a greater number of scholarships have been made available. Teachers may take part in professional development programs, and receive assistance from teaching staff sent from Germany. Thanks to the innovative features of the PASCH website (pasch-net.de), students and teachers can collaborate on projects, participate in contests, and engage in other cooperative activities, together with their counterparts around the world. A global, multi-cultural community of German-learners is thereby being created.

The initiative’s impact is being felt in the United States, where there are at present around 100 PASCH schools. These schools are divided into approximately 60 language schools (part-time and Saturday schools), 20 language immersion schools (prioritizing fluency in foreign languages), and 20 American high schools. With the exception of most of the language schools, and a handful of American high schools, which already received support from the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA), these schools were able receive the assistance from the ZfA for the first time thanks to PASCH.

Learn more about PASCH at http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/09__Language__Study__Exchange/01/04/PASCH.html and at http://weltkarte.pasch-net.de