In collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, American Councils for International Education just launched its newest program in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with the purpose of bringing together high school students from the Croat and Bosniak ethnic groups to share a classroom for the first time in 20 years.

Seven students from the Bosniak ethnic group and seven students from the Croat ethnic group are sharing a classroom and studying English language and American culture during this 27-week course. Bosniak and Croat teachers of English are working together to instruct the class for two hours per week using an ?American-style? curriculum, which includes educational films, games, group activities, and individual presentations. American Councils is implementing this pilot project in two high schools in the town of Zepce, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

As a remnant of the Balkans Wars in the late 1990s, nearly 60 high schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina remain segregated along ethnic lines. Often referred to as ?segregated schools? or ?two schools under one roof,? these high schools hold separate classes for Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks. Students from different ethnic groups even enter the school through separate doors. This new program marks the first time students of different ethnic groups share a classroom and study together in a segregated school.

When asked about the anticipated effects of the new program, Lisa Fiala, American Councils? Regional Director for Southeast Europe, explained, ?the unique ability of this program to bring together students from different ethnic groups, otherwise educated in segregated classrooms, while incorporating American-style teaching and learning, will prove invaluable and will serve to promote cooperation, interaction, and understanding among participants.? After the successful implementation of the pilot project, there are plans are to expand the program to more schools and include other ethnic groups.

Click here to learn more about American Councils programs in Southeastern Europe.

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They say everything is bigger in Texas and Allen Independent School District is no exception with construction underway on the new $ 60 million football stadium. Slated to open in July, the Eagles will unveil the larger-than-life facility on the industry-leading Matrix

The Online Travel Agent Certificate Program at Canadian Tourism College (CTC) in Vancouver, British Columbia, has earned CITC’s 3 Star Endorsement!

CITC (Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors) endorses community colleges, private vocational schools and correspondence programs that offer full-time and distance learning training programs for travel counsellors.

Their endorsement indicates that a program is meeting or exceeding the minimum requirements for entering the travel industry as a travel counselor. Criteria for endorsement include: the length of time the program has been offered, how graduates are performing in the workplace, course curriculum and instructor qualifications, among other areas.

The Online Travel Agent Certificate Program at CTC provides comprehensive training in fares and tickets, travel reservations, leisure travel and the SABRE computer reservation system. Graduates of this CITC endorsed program will benefit from reduced knowledge examination fees, flexible exam scheduling and improved job prospects. Click here to find out more about the benefits of graduating from a CITC endorsed program.

CTC has been the industry leader in Travel, Tourism, Hospitality and Flight Attendant training since 1980 and has been recognized by many worldwide industry organizations for their excellence in training students for the world of tourism and hospitality. This is the fourth program at CTC to earn a CITC endorsement.

For more information, please contact Gwen Donaldson, President – Vancouver Campus 604-736-8000 or Kim Russell, President – Surrey Campus 604-582-1122.

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Robert ?Steve? Craig has been appointed by the board of directors of Workforce Alliance as president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit organization chartered by the state of Florida to lead workforce development in Palm Beach County.

The appointment was announced following today?s board of directors meeting by Chairman of the Board Steven Parrish, principal, Steven M. Parrish, P.A., who said, ?Workforce Alliance has an established track record as one of the top-performing workforce organizations in the state and, as interim CEO, Steve Craig has been instrumental in leading the organization towards even higher standards of performance excellence. With Steve?s appointment, the board is confident that Workforce Alliance will continue to set the bar even higher to better meet the job search and training needs of job seekers as well as the employment, human resource and employee training needs of Palm Beach County businesses.?

In the most recent program year, and during one of the most challenging economic times in the county?s history, Workforce Alliance placed a record 12,771 candidates in jobs ? a 19 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Prior to his appointment as interim chief executive officer in August 2011, Steve served as Executive Vice President for Workforce Alliance, providing oversight for the Business Services, Grants, Professional Placement Services, Performance Analysis, Communications, and Industry & Economic Relations business units. He joined Workforce Alliance in 2004 as Vice President of Business Services and Economic Development, a position he held until his promotion to Executive Vice President in 2008.

Prior to joining Workforce Alliance, Steve held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at Florida Power & Light Company, one of the nation?s largest electric utilities, where he worked in the company?s Customer Service, Nuclear Fuel and Nuclear Operations business units. He also has owned and operated businesses in Palm Beach County that specialized in real estate, custom home development and home inspection services.

Steve is a member of the board of directors of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County and is an alumnus of Leadership Palm Beach County. He also is a member of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County?s Executive Council and Six Pillars Committee, as well as a member of several area Chambers of Commerce. He holds an MBA Degree from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor?s Degree in Management. He also holds a Commercial Pilot?s License, a Real Estate License and a General Contractors License.

On average, more than 11,000 visitors each month are helped by specialized services that are provided at the three Workforce Alliance Career Centers in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Belle Glade. The centers offer more than 100 classes and workshops each month for job search and job skills training, career development and consulting. Workforce Alliance also helps employers compete in today?s challenging marketplace by providing recruitment, assessments and referrals of qualified job candidates; space and staff assistance for screening/interviewing candidates; grants for training new or existing employees; and outplacement assistance. More information is available on the organization?s website at http://www.pbcalliance.com.

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As World War II recedes into distant memory, great attention is being rightfully focused on the remaining Allied World War II veterans and their stories. But what of those who served on the other side? For Rolf, the main protagonist of Flight of Remembrance, a young Latvian aeronautical engineering student of Baltic German descent, who was forced out of dire necessity and the threat of execution to flee his homeland in 1939 before the first Soviet takeover, the only nation that would accept him was Nazi Germany. What was it like to take refuge in the Third Reich only to discover that the hoped-for haven was a dictatorship every bit as cruel, heartless and sadistic as the one he escaped? Would he survive the dangerous and turbulent years to come? Would his personal principles and high ideals remain intact? What were the everyday challenges and realities that women faced during and after WWII and what was it like to be at the epicenter of the most devastating conflict of all times in which an estimated 60 million people worldwide lost their lives?

Flight of Remembrance seeks to answer these and other questions by providing a window into the palpitating heart of wartime upheaval under Hitler and the Nazi regime through the lives of Rolf Dutzmann and Lilo Wassull?two people fatefully positioned ?on the other side.? While the account chronicles Rolf?s pursuit of his technical dream against daunting wartime odds, it is first and foremost a poignant love story that plays out against a panorama of worldwide chaos and destruction. It is also a story of the seen and unseen forces that coalesce to keep Rolf and Lilo alive after they meet in 1940 Berlin. The subsequent chain of cataclysmic events includes Rolf?s draft into the Luftwaffe and his father?s assignment as chief inspector of V-2 rocket mass-production; the bombing of Berlin; the destruction of their homes; their numerous desperate, cross-country escapes from the bombing, the advancing Soviet troops from the east and other Allied forces from the west; the POW camp hardships; and the deprivation of the postwar years.

Written by the daughter of the protagonists, the book includes a foreword by veteran author and Professor Emeritus of International Relations at Boston University, Dr. Angelo Codevilla, who states, ?The Dutzmann family?s story grips me: as a student of war, as someone whose childhood memories are of privation in war-torn Italy, and as a family man grateful for never having had to conjure up morsels of food and lumps of coal day after day, and for never having had to stand in front of officials who held my family?s life in their hands.? The book includes a preface, over a hundred World War II era photographs, a map of northern European locations and family journeys, three appendices, a bibliography and an index.

Despite the immeasurable evil, suffering and desolation of World War II, a synchronistic chain of events lends powerful testimony to the potential lying dormant in life?s most terrifying adversities, as well as an uplifting reminder that even out of the ashes of catastrophe and ruin, love and hope may rise like the proverbial phoenix.

On the brink of her family?s odyssey to the New World in December of 1951, Marina Dutzmann Kirsch was born into the postwar Old World in Zurich, Switzerland. More than fifty years later, her ?journey of remembrance? to relive, research and record the experiences of her family during the tumultuous years of World War II included unearthing facts about her grandfather?s role as chief inspector of V-2 rockets at the top secret installations of Peenem

Grove School in Madison, CT, a co-ed, therapeutic boarding school for adolescents, recently added a new off-campus home to its transition program for young adults, increasing the program?s capacity to 20. In addition to increasing its capacity for residential students, Grove School has expanded the program to provide day support services for students in the local area.

Grove School?s transition program, which was established in 2007, provides a stepping stone for students who have recently graduated from high school and need support balancing their new commitments, at college or in the workforce. Richard Chorney, President and CEO, originally designed the program to meet the growing need for an alternative to college for students graduating from Grove School. The intial pilot program provided ongoing clinical and educational services to students who had completed high school graduation requirements but needed more time for emotional growth and development before transitioning to college. The program began on the Grove School campus with 4 students and has expanded to four off campus homes in the town of Madison. In 2008, Assistant Director Janel Lynch added the Transition Program Director to her responsiblities and she oversees the day to day operation of the program.

As students work through the transition after high school, Grove?s staff assists them in developing the life skills necessary to live and work in the larger community. Skills students learn in the transition program include: money management, time management, developing an appropriate work/school/life balance and cultivating the skills necessary to maintain a home, from lawn maintenance to cooking. Those students furthering their education while enrolled in the transition program meet with an academic advisor twice a week.

?The transition program was created with the idea that many students, not just from Grove, were graduating high school and needed an in-between step,? Lynch said. ?We feel it is extremely important to provide a program that bridges the gap and teaches students to be more successful in life.?

Students in Grove?s transition program are involved in creating their own personal program tailored to their individual interests, capabilities, and goals. This includes opportunities to gain further education at local colleges, adult educational programs, trade and technical schools, as well as employment, and volunteering experiences. Students can also develop work skills through their efforts on the Grove work crew. The work crew is responsible for the campus? lawn maintenance and also learns trade skills such as carpentry, painting and electrical work. All of the skills learned through work crew will help students maintain a home later in life.

In addition, Grove?s transition program focuses heavily on helping students to develop their emotional intelligence. Students work to improve distress tolerance, coping skills, concentration, self-discipline, and motivation throughout the program. Members of the transition program benefit from an integrated clinical treatment program, which includes individual therapy sessions twice a week and family therapy monthly.

To help students prepare for life after the transition program, staff take students to neighboring college events and encourage them to establish an off-campus network of friends and colleagues. Many students go on to four-year colleges, continue vocational careers and thrive in the workforce following their time in the transition program.

To learn more about Grove School in Madison, CT or to apply online, visit http://www.GroveSchool.org or call 203.245.2778.

About The Grove School:

Established in 1934, Grove School is a family-run, co-educational, therapeutic boarding school nestled in the shoreline community of Madison, Conn. It is a therapeutic milieu for teens with social, emotional and learning challenges that have impacted the quality of their lives. With a seamless program of clinical services, college preparatory education and diverse activities, Grove School focuses on the development of meaningful relationships and personal growth. Grove School is approved by the Connecticut State Department of Education and licensed by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. To learn more, visit http://www.GroveSchool.org or call 203.245.2778.

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TroopSwap.com, a fast growing ecommerce platform exclusively for veterans, service members and their families today announced that Mark McLaughlin, CEO of Palo Alto Networks and former CEO of Verisign, has joined the company?s advisory board. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Mr. McLaughlin possesses a unique blend of military and technological expertise the company will use to further distribution of military discounts in a digital environment. Founded by two former Army Rangers, Matthew Thompson and Blake Hall, TroopSwap has attracted over 35,000 members since its May 23, 2011 debut.

?I am very excited to be able to assist TroopSwap at this stage in the company’s growth as I strongly believe in the company’s mission and business,? said Mr. McLaughlin.

Mark McLaughlin is the CEO of Palo Alto Networks. He served as the CEO of VeriSign from August 2009 ? August 2011. Mr. McLaughlin was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) in Jan. 2011. He is also a director at Vesta, a worldwide leader in electronic payment solutions. Mr. McLaughlin received his J.D., Magna cum Laude, from Seattle University School of Law and his B.S. Degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Mr. McLaughlin served as an attack helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army and earned an Army Commendation Medal and Airborne Wings.

About TroopSwap:

TroopSwap.com is the first ecommerce platform exclusively for military families. The company is a member of the First Lady?s Joining Forces initiative to support military families via the Department of Defense?s Military Spouse Employment Partnership. The Service Disabled Veteran Owned company further serves the military community by donating 10% of the company?s profits to the Wounded Warrior Project and by focusing on employing veterans and military spouses, who collectively represent over 90% of the company?s workforce. To learn more follow TroopSwap on Facebook at facebook.com/TroopSwap or Twitter @TroopSwap

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eScholar, a leader in driving the application of research and data to individualize education and personal achievement, today announced eScholar myTrack?, a student-centric solution that facilitates collaborative goal planning. Focused on the needs of the student, eScholar myTrack efficiently personalizes education by providing a group platform from which administrators, teachers and support staff are presented with an individualized and a holistic view of a student?s progress across an entire education lifecycle. Users gain a better understanding of the student, their unique needs, deficiencies, and possible areas of improvement based on current and historical information. Available immediately, eScholar myTrack realigns today?s education process to focus on the student to help them achieve their specific, unique goals.

eScholar myTrack was built as a collaborative goal planning solution focused on empowering each student. By leveraging the data and insights driven by the industry?s most robust longitudinal data warehouse, eScholar myTrack monitors progress and enables the educational team to support the student?s overall success. Introduced in multiple phases, eScholar myTrack today supports the emerging initiatives that focus on individual student goals, including: Response to Intervention (RTI), Personalized Education Planning (PEP), Differentiated Education Planning (DEP), as well as Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS). In turn, as the solution is adopted more broadly, eScholar myTrack will support all levels of educators and students with actionable insights, including;

Get ready to explore with Dora and Diego at Discovery Science Center (DSC) in the new traveling exhibit Dora & Diego ? Let?s Explore! The exhibit features beloved characters Dora and Diego from Nickelodeon?s hit preschool series ?Dora the Explorer? and ?Go, Diego, Go!?, along with their friends Boots, Map, Backpack, Isa, Tico, and of course Swiper, now in their own exhibit for your preschooler to explore as they learn and play along.

This interactive traveling exhibit, created by The Children?s Museum of Indianapolis in partnership with Nickelodeon, and presented by the Anthem Foundation, will be at DSC from January 28 through May 6, 2012.

Dora and Diego ? Let?s Explore! is based on the animated children?s series, ?Dora the Explorer? and ?Go, Diego, Go!?. ?Dora the Explorer? follows the adventures of the 7-year-old Latina heroine Dora and her friends in an imaginative, tropical world. ?Go, Diego, Go!? stars Dora?s 8-year-old cousin Diego, a bilingual animal rescuer who protects animals and their environment. The exhibit gives children and their families the opportunity to go into the worlds of Dora and Diego to engage in problem-solving and active play. Young children will play along as they join an adventure and learn how to solve problems, be a good friend, and care for animals and the environment. Spanish vocabulary will be incorporated throughout the exhibit to introduce Spanish-speaking skills to preschool children.

?Dora the Explorer? is a ground-breaking children?s series that draws kids into an interactive quest using a variety of learning techniques in every episode. Dora and Diego?Let?s Explore! carries the play-along theme throughout the exhibit as children are encouraged to actively play while they solve problems, share and learn about the natural world. Be sure to bring your little explorer to play along with Dora, Diego and their friends so they too can say, ?We did it!?

Favorite friends and places from episodes of ?Dora the Explorer? and ?Go, Diego, Go!? are incorporated in the exhibit including:

The Purple Planet

Visit the Purple Planet with Dora and Boots and explore purple houses! Two Purple Planet houses invite young visitors to climb inside and slide down or enter to pretend-play with miniature versions of Dora, Boots, and their friends on the surface of the Purple Planet.

Rocket Ship

Dora?s outer-space friends want to go back to the Purple Planet and need help getting there. Aboard the Rocket Ship, preschoolers are invited to put on a spacesuit, pilot the ship, assemble a space map, and test their memory with images of colorful planets as they help Dora and Boots take their outer-space friends home.

Constellations

On the way to the Purple Planet, Dora and Boots encounter some interesting star groupings. Children and their families are invited to help identify the patterns made out of stars by inserting star shapes to light-up a constellation.

Isa?s Garden

Dora?s friend Isa the Iguana demonstrates how to take care of flowers, plants, and animals. Preschool visitors can tour Isa?s Garden to pick flowers, interact with bird, butterfly, and insect puppets, and pretend-fly with toddler-sized bird and butterfly wings. Even the littlest visitors will enjoy smelling the flowery scents and picking soft-fabric posies.

Tico?s Tree and Car

Dora is a good friend to Tico the squirrel and young visitors are invited to be a good friend to Tico too. Tico needs help picking nuts from the tree for a family picnic. Children can play along with Swiper to swipe the nuts and watch as they shoot up and over to fill Tico?s basket. Tico?s car is in need of fuel! Visitors can help Tico fill up his car with nuts so he can begin his journey.

Pirate Ship

In the Pirate Ship, preschoolers can join the Pirate Piggies crew and dress like a pirate to pretend-play along sailing the ship and divvying up the treasure. Visitors can raise and lower the Pirate Piggies? flag, look through the telescopes to spot the treasure chest and then divvy up the coins into the Pirate Piggies? banks and help them share the treasure.

Animal Rescue Center

Young children can practice caring and helping rainforest animals in Diego?s Animal Rescue Center. Preschoolers can be an animal rescuer, like Diego, as they diagnose and address an animal?s problem from the ?Scanner? bed, bandage and apply cold packs at the ?First-Aid Station,? and brush stuffed animals at the ?Care Station.?

Rainforest Maze

Preschoolers will explore a rainforest to locate rainforest animals. Active play is encouraged as children swing across the Bobo Brothers? monkey bars, climb or crawl through a fallen tree, climb across Jaguar Mountain, and jump or hop across the River Rocks.

ABOUT DISCOVERY SCIENCE CENTER

Imaginations run wild through more than 100 hands-on exhibits at Discovery Science Center, Orange County?s leading destination for hands-on science fun. Take the Eco Challenge and become a green superhero, feel the power of a real rocket engine ?launch?, explore the inner workings of a two-story tall dinosaur and try your best slap shot against the Anaheim Duck?s goalie! Since 1998, Discovery Science Center has been a non-profit organization dedicated to educating young minds, assisting teachers and increasing public understanding of science, math and technology through interactive exhibits and programs. It is a community-wide resource where families come together to learn and have fun and school districts can use as an educational resource.

Open daily from 10:00 a.m. For further information, call us at (714) 542-CUBE or visit us online http://www.discoverycube.org.

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Preparing students for the English Language Arts (ELA) and Math standardized exams is a point of pride for Bright Kids NYC. The ELA and Math exams are given annually to students in grades three through eight and have an indelible impact on the futures of students enrolled in New York public schools. These scores affect students in a number of ways as they are used to determine student promotion to the next grade level, admission into a Gifted and Talented program, or the proper level of class a child should be assigned to. This year the test scores will also be used to determine a teacher?s rating and to guide schools and teachers in their lesson planning.

To ensure each child is receiving specialized instruction in the exact areas that he needs support in, Bright Kids NYC starts its ELA/Math program by having each student take a grade leveled diagnostic. Based on these results, an individualized small group curriculum and schedule is created and updated as students progress through their sessions. All sessions are taught by experienced teachers who have a track record of significantly improving students? standardized scores. Welcoming parents into the loop, tutors regularly provide reports discussing students? success across their lessons and homework is assigned for reinforcement.

Families can choose to enroll their children in a 6 or 8-session Bootcamp to be held in the Bright Kids NYC downtown Manhattan office beginning in February 2012. Sessions are offered as either a weekend or weeknight schedule, and each session lasts one hour. To allow for a good deal of one-on-one attention and individualized curriculum, classes will be limited to 3-6 students per class. Students will also be leveled based on their diagnostics, so that each child is seeing material that is challenging, but within their reach. For parents looking to supplement their child?s Bootcamp with one-on-one tutoring, one can schedule additional one-hour sessions at home or at the office.

Space is limited and with this year?s exams increasing a few hours in length, it is important that parents ensure their children are well prepared for this challenge. To learn more about ELA/Math Bootcamps or to book Bootcamp sessions, call 917-539-4757 or visit http://www.BrightKidsNYC.com.

About Bright Kids NYC: Bright Kids NYC Inc. was founded in New York City to educate parents about standardized tests through workshops and consultations and to prepare young children for such tests through assessments, tutoring, and publications. Our philosophy is that regardless of age, test taking is a skill that can be acquired and mastered through practice.

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