VIF announces name change to Participate to reflect broader commitment to educator development
CHAPEL HILL, NC (PRWEB) January 10, 2017 -- VIF International Education, an education partner of K-12 schools and districts, announced today that it is changing its name to Participate. The change reflects the organization’s broader commitment to educator development and its expertise in providing continuous learning opportunities that empower teachers and inspire students to be active contributors to their communities and our world.
In May of 2016, VIF International Education acquired Participate Learning, a leading online platform for educational resource discovery and collaboration. The acquisition positioned the organization to deliver best-in-class technology to enhance and expand professional learning and collaboration opportunities for educators.
“The VIF name served us well for 30 years. It represented what became the preeminent U.S. cultural exchange program for teachers and afforded us the opportunity to pursue other pressing education needs,” said Participate CEO David Young. “In addition to cultural exchange, our growing national and international work now includes instructional design, professional development, program management and education technology. Although we will miss the VIF name, we believe Participate more accurately reflects these broader education pursuits and the enhanced technology capabilities that will help us reach more students and teachers than we ever thought possible - it recognizes our past, present and future in support of collaborative, experiential and global learning for all.”
Visiting International Faculty (VIF) was founded in 1987 as a family business that sought to promote the value of international perspectives in education by providing universities with international faculty recruitment, relocation and support services. The organization shifted focus to K-12 education in 1989 when state departments of education began pursuing world language learning for K-12 students. Over the years, VIF has placed thousands of international teachers in K-12 classrooms across the United States as a designated U.S. Department of State Exchange Visitor Program sponsor. The organization continues to be committed to cultural exchange and supports international teachers’ success in the classroom as it firmly believes that exposing students to intercultural experiences at the K-12 level is key to building global competence - a critical skill for success in our increasingly interconnected world.
Today, as Participate, the organization also provides schools and districts with leading-edge technology, comprehensive frameworks and support services to impact student outcomes by improving teacher practice. Many of its partners are distinguished by school-wide commitments to strengthen academic achievement for diverse student populations through immersive language learning opportunities and equitable access to global, inquiry-based education.
The new name is effective immediately and will be implemented across the organization's products and services throughout the remainder of 2017.
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About Participate
Participate (http://www.participate.com) partners with schools and districts to provide leading-edge technology, comprehensive frameworks and support services. These programs and services impact student outcomes by improving teacher practice through collaborative professional learning. For nearly 30 years, educators have used Participate’s professional development and curriculum, language acquisition and cultural exchange teacher programs to create engaging learning environments that empower teachers and inspire students to create impact on a global scale. Participate is a certified B Corp and ‘Best for the World’ honoree headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
TJ Scholl, Participate, https://www.participate.com/, 919-265-5065, [email protected]
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