Section+A+-+Philosophy

= Section A: Philosophy =

** 1. What processes are in place to revise the school’s philosophy/mission statement? How do you ensure it is aligned with the IBO mission statement? **

The SAS mission statement was amended in April 2005 and the SAS vision statement was adopted in May 2006. The SAS community, including parents, students, teachers, administration, support staff and board, drafted the core values through the year, the board revised and adopted them in April 2007.

This process involved parents, faculty and staff, administration and board members working together to envision the future of the school, to set priorities to achieve that vision and develop a road map for the immediate future priorities of the community. These groups participated in retreats which involved training and thorough discussion of Shanghai American School's values and goals. The current SAS mission statement aligns strongly with the IBO mission statement, and our SAS EAGLES (our Expected School-wide Learning Results) align strongly with the IB learner profile. ([|IB_EAGLES.pdf])

The school’s foundational documents are currently being reviewed, in preparation for the school’s centennial in 2012, and to prepare a new strategic plan for the next five years. Once again a highly structured and inclusive process is being followed, beginning with a series of [|World Cafes] in fall 2010. In addition to the stakeholder groups that were involved last time, a conscious effort is being made to include student voices. When a student World Café was convened, it took place during our IB Flex block, allowing for a large representation by IB Diploma and IB Certificate students. There are two student representatives from this campus on the Core Planning Team, both full IB Diploma candidates.

The work of the Core Planning Team is summarized in the document below:
 * [|Draft_Strategic_Plan_13_Mar_2011.pdf]

As of April 2011, a revised Mission statement and statement of Core Values have been adopted by our Governing Board -- see [|SAS Core Values and Mission]. For the next steps of our Strategic Planning process, Measurement and Action teams have been appointed who will begin their work this spring and continue into the fall.

** 2. By what means is the school philosophy/mission statement and the IBO’s mission statement promoted to the whole school community? **

The school mission and vision statements and the EAGLES are available and accessible in many areas around the school, for example, posters on classroom walls, the school website, the curriculum and professional development handbook, Atlas Rubicon and other school publications. The EAGLES in particular are embedded into both the academic and co-curricular life of the school. The IB philosophy, including the IB mission statement, and learner profile are presented to parents and students during presentations about the program, emphasizing the connections between the IB and SAS foundational documents.

** 3. By what means does the school promote international-mindedness throughout the school community? **

Concern for international-mindedness is demonstrated in a wide variety of ways, in every facet of school life, starting with the school’s foundational documents. Here the vision statement calls for SAS to "Maximize benefits derived from the cultural and linguistic learning experiences in China and from the rich multi-cultural backgrounds of SAS families,” and the EAGLES state that all SAS students will learn to be:

Global-minded Citizens Who
 * Act with the future in mind.
 * Embrace diversity and engage responsibly in the world’s problems with compassion, empathy, and tolerance.
 * Respect and support family and community.
 * Protect and advocate for local and global environments.

In the classroom, international-mindedness as exemplified by the IB Learner Profile is demonstrated through a wide range of learning activities that promote one or more attributes of the Learner Profile, and also by the range of global, national, and local issues that are addressed in many areas of the curriculum.

Examples of international-minded outside the classroom are equally diverse and numerous. All students in grades 6-10 have the chance to travel and explore China through our China Alive program. Numerous school-sponsored international travel opportunities are also provided, though athletics, arts programs, Habitat for Humanity, and language/culture trips.

In addition to the privilege of being able to experience other countries and cultures first hand our students are encouraged to broaden their horizons through our many school sponsored internationally-minded and/or service clubs such as Roots & Shoots, 30-Hour Famine, Afghans for Afghans, English Service Project, and the Liming Service Project, to name just a few. The international-mindedness of our students was evident earlier this year when three IB Year 2 students made a presentation to the Governing Board leading to the formal adoption of a goal to make all school-related travel carbon-neutral.

Finally, we promote international-mindedness in our students by inviting colleges from all over the world to visit our campus. This combined with our counselor’s extensive knowledge of international college admissions processes results in our students completing post-secondary education in numerous countries all over the world.


 * === Standard A1 === || === Requires significant attention ===

|| === Shows satisfactory development ===

||
 * === There is close alignment between the educational beliefs and values of the school and those of the programme. === ||  ||= ====X==== ||


 * === Practices === |||||||| === Degree of implementation ===

|| The Mission and Vision Statement below have been in effect during the five years since our IB authorization.
 * || === Low === ||||  || === High === ||
 * **1. The school is committed to the principles defined in the IBO mission statement.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * [|SAS Mission Statement]
 * [|SAS Vision Statement]

The school's commitment to the principles stated in these documents is demonstrated in many ways -- in classroom activities that engage with global issues, in our China Alive trips in Grades 6-10, in our wide range of activities encompassing Creativity, Action, and Service, and in the success our graduates have in universities around the world.

As noted above, we are currently engaged in our Strategic Planning process for the next five years, and as of 29 March 2011, a revised Mission statement and statement of Core Values have been adopted by our Governing Board. We believe that these are even closer, in the particulars, and in spirit, to the principles of the IBO mission statement.
 * SAS Mission Statement: Shanghai American School inspires in all students:
 * a lifelong passion for learning,
 * a commitment to act with integrity and compassion, and
 * the courage to live their dreams


 * Core Values: We believe that:
 * embracing diversity enriches individuals and communities;
 * acts of compassion and generosity of spirit create a better world;
 * when individuals take responsibility for their own decisions, they are empowered to make positive impact;
 * each individual has intrinsic value and the potential to contribute to society;
 * collaboration is key to overcoming complex challenges and achieving common goals;
 * integrity is the foundation of enduring relationships, quality institutions and well-functioning communities;
 * as global citizens we have a duty to care for the earth and its inhabitants to ensure the well-being of humankind;
 * creativity, critical thinking, and a lifelong passion for learning are essential to personal fulfillment and to meet the challenges of the future.

Mission and Vision statements, and statement of Core Values for the past 5 years:
 *  These statements can also be found on our school's website: [|SAS Core Values and Mission] . ||
 * **2. The school is committed to developing in students the qualities, attitudes and characteristics described in the IB learner profile.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * SAS Expected School-wide Learning Results are called the EAGLES -- [|SAS EAGLES.pdf]
 * On the school website's page concerning the EAGLES, if you click on the link "for more information about the EAGLES," you are taken to a document which not only gives the expected attributes in detail, but which also shows the alignment of the EAGLES with the IB Learner Profile -- [|Link to info about EAGLES and Learner Profile]
 * [|Student survey -- learner profile.pdf]
 * [|Parent survey -- Learner Profile.pdf] ||
 * **3. There are clear and close connections between the school’s published statements of mission and philosophy, and the beliefs and values of the programme.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * [|SAS Mission Statement]
 * [|SAS Vision Statement]
 * [|SAS Core Values]

Revised Mission and Core Values (adopted March 2011): The main documentary evidence for this practice is from the foundational documents listed above. The EAGLES in particular represent our school-wide attempt to state how our values are put in practice throughout the school, just as the IB Learner Profile represents the IB mission in practice.
 * [|SAS Core Values and Mission] . ||
 * **4. The beliefs and values that drive the programme are shared by all sections of the school community (including students, teachers, administrators, members of the governing body and others, as appropriate).** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:

We believe that many other pieces of evidence submitted in this self-study will also reflect ways in which the values of the programme are demonstrated by various members of the community. || The school's commitment to continuous improvement is documented in detail in our most recent WASC (accreditation) self-study, from 2007-08:
 * **5. The school is committed to continuous improvement.** ||  ||   || X ||   ||
 * Evidence:
 * [|WASC Self-Study Part 1.pdf]
 * [|WASC Self-Study Part 2.pdf]

This year we are at the midpoint of our WASC review cycle. Since the full review in 2007-08, some of the school improvement initiatives we have undertaken are:
 * Grown the IB Program on this campus from 87 to 184 students, and the number of full Diploma students from 50 to 73.
 * Written a draft Assessment Policy, with refinement and implementation to take place over the next 4-5 years [|SAS Assessment Policy (draft).pdf]
 * Implemented a 1-1 laptop program in grades 6-11, with full implementation in grades 6-12 to be achieved in the fall of 2011.
 * Continued to implement Atlas Rubicon as the vehicle for our curriculum.

Another facet of the school's commitment to continuous improvement is demonstrated in the resources which are devoted to professional development. Every teacher at the school has an annual PD allowance of USD 1200; this is in addition to separate PD budgets for IB, AP (Advanced Placement), and other specific school initiatives.

In addition to the various initiatives we have undertaken, we feel that our self-assessment on this practice should also consider the ways in which we seek feedback from various stakeholders, and the ways in which this feedback is used to improve the school. Students, parents, and teachers all view this as a clear strength of our IB program.
 * The Strategic Planning process has made a conscious decision to include the voice of all stakeholder groups, including students and parents.
 * Numerous surveys are distributed to seek feedback, including a general parent satisfaction survey, separate parent and student surveys connected to teacher evaluation, and the surveys connected to this review. However, the response rate for these surveys is frequently disappointing. Teacher evaluation surveys have not been revised for several years. ||
 * **6. The school promotes student inquiry and the development of critical-thinking skills.** ||  ||   || X ||   ||
 * Evidence:
 * Student survey results -- [|Student survey -- critical thinking.pdf]
 * Parent survey results -- [|Parent survey -- critical thinking.pdf]

There is a somewhat greater range of opinion as to how successful we are in other areas of our curriculum, e.g. in Grades 9 and 10.

Other evidence pertaining to this practice is given under **Section C -- Curriculum**, especially under:
 * C1. 8 -- The curriculum provides ample opportunity for student inquiry and the presentation of ideas.
 * C3.7 -- Teaching at the school engages students as critical thinkers with developing views of their own. ||
 * **7. The school provides a climate that encourages positive innovation in implementing the philosophy of the programme.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * The implementation of the 1-1 laptop program has led to a large increase in the prevalence and range of technological tools which are used to support learning in the programme and in non-IB classes as well.
 * We have 4 scheduled Professional Development days each year, with roughly 50% of this time given to our Teachers Teaching Teachers (TTT) program. TTT sessions are structured as mini-conferences, with teachers invited to give presentations or facilitate workshops on topics of their own choosing. Here is a sample TTT program -- [|TTT sessions Oct 09.pdf]. (Since 2009, TTT sign-ups have taken place online, so a program in document form is not available, but the program has continued.)
 * Students are encouraged to start their own clubs and activities -- there are numerous examples of clubs and activities which have arisen out of student initiatives.
 * The ability to pursue personal goals and to learn from creative and innovative colleagues is cited by teachers as an important factor in our relatively low rate of teacher turnover.

More consideration may be needed as to the ways in which we evaluate the success of these innovations. ||
 * **8. The school promotes concurrency of learning for each student.** ||  ||   || X ||   ||
 * Evidence:
 * Strong connections from TOK with each subject area, CAS with many areas, Math/Science, Drama/English, plus some less obvious connections, e.g. studying Development issues in Spanish and Economics.
 * Many IB teachers integrate TOK issues into their subjects, though this could still be made more consistent and pervasive.
 * We could improve our efforts to emphasize connections among subjects in Grades 9 and 10.
 * All our IB courses are taught over two years, i.e. no one-year SL courses or Anticipated registrations. (One current Y2 Diploma student completed Biology SL last year as an Anticipated candidate, but he did this at another IB World School and transferred to this school afterwards.)
 * Because of the 100 hour teaching guideline for TOK, Diploma students earn 0.5 SAS credits for TOK each year, the same as SAS semester-long courses. TOK Year 1 meets all year long using flexible groupings and scheduling (to reach approximately 60 hours of teaching time in Year 1) to promote concurrency of learning. TOK Year 1 is the only SAS course earning 0.5 credits which is scheduled in this fashion. Because of staffing constraints, this model may change in starting in the fall of 2011 so that TOK will meet full-time starting half-way through Year 1. However, students will still have time for the Hexagon Core elements in their schedule, and we are working purposefully to make sure that key elements of TOK are still part of the students' experience from the time they start the programme.
 * The general policy of the school is that students stay with the same teacher over the two years of the IB program. ||

The statement of conclusions
A1.7 Encouraging positive innovation A1.8 Concurrency of learning within the IB Program ||
 * === Strengths === ||
 * A1.1-3 Very strong correspondence between school's values and those of the IB Program.

2. Make more explicit connections between the EAGLES, the IB Learner Profile, and students' academic work, and seek ways to incorporate these into assessment and reporting. 3. Revisit the content and use of the information we obtain from feedback surveys. ||
 * === Practices in need of strengthening === || === Proposals for improvement === ||
 * Identify gaps in the implementation of our mission, vision and goals.
 * What are we doing in order to live up to our ideals?
 * How are we evaluating the degree to which we live up to our ideal || 1. Identify ways to measure implementation of our strategic planning goals -- this is the charge of one of the teams developed as part of our current strategic planning.


 * === Standard A2 === || === Requires significant attention === || === Shows satisfactory development ===

||
 * === The school promotes international-mindedness on the part of the adults and the students in the school community. === ||  ||= ====X==== ||

The importance of diversity features prominently in our Core Values, both in its original and newly revised version:
 * ===** Practices **=== |||||||| ===** Degree of implementation **=== ||
 * || ===** Low **=== ||||  || ===** High **=== ||
 * **1. The school values and makes productive use of the diversity of cultures and perspectives that exist in the school and in the local, national and global communities to enhance learning.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:

From the Core Values statement in effect from 2007-2011:
 * **DIVERSITY** – We teach and learn with unwavering faith in the dignity of the individual and of all cultures; the sensitivity and respect for spirituality; and the importance of family.

And the Core Values statement adopted this spring:
 * We believe that diversity enriches individuals and communities.

And beyond this explicit mention of diversity, the rest of the revised Core Values statement (see A1.1) further define the interwoven role of the individual and the group in developing a learning community.

Beyond these foundational documents, our commitment to this practice is shown in a variety of ways documented in other parts of this document, from our language offerings, to our ELL program based on the principles of additive bilingualism, our rich variety of extra-curricular activities, and curricular activities that connect to many different aspects of culture. || This is also addressed in both the past and new versions of our Core Values statements, which apply equally to all members of the community, adults as well as students:
 * **2. The school expects and promotes a commitment to international understanding and responsible citizenship on the part of the adults in the school community.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence


 * [|SAS Core Values and Mission]

Prominent among many examples of this in practice are the strong support teachers and parents give to all types of activities. || This practice is demonstrated in a variety of classroom settings, in a variety of subject areas. For example, language classes frequently discuss cultural issues, exploring similarities and differences between the students' cultures and cultures where the target is spoken.
 * **3. The school encourages learning that fosters responsible citizenship and international-mindedness.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * As noted under the evidence for the previous practice, this is part of our SAS Core Values, as well as in the EAGLES, under Global-minded Citizens.
 * Parent survey results -- [|Parent survey -- international-mindedness.pdf]
 * Responsible citizenship is also fostered through our Acceptable Use policy for technology, and our guidelines for students traveling on school-related trips, which emphasize that students on these trips are acting as ambassadors of the school.
 * There is a strong sense at all levels of the community that we are fortunate to enjoy the opportunities and resources that we have, and that with this privilege comes a responsibility to act. This is demonstrated by our response to emergencies, both international and local.
 * The recent earthquake and tsunami has led to numerous discussions and a variety of responses both in and out of class. Among the fund-raising efforts have been a 1000 cranes origami fundraising project involving students from pre-K through grade 12, and a charity golf tournament organized by a student as a CAS project.
 * Within our local community, a substitute teacher recently delivered an infant two months before term with a number of significant medical complications. The school community has again responded in a number of ways; for example, the IB Visual Arts Y2 students have organized a silent auction of their works to help this family meet their medical expenses. ||
 * **4. The school encourages student learning that strengthens the student’s own cultural identity, and celebrates and fosters understanding of different cultures.** ||  ||   || X ||   ||
 * Evidence:
 * [|English A2 Untranslatable Words.pdf]
 * [|untranslatable word Philip Gu.pdf]
 * [|untranslatable word Abe Yoon.pdf]
 * [|photo_of_English_A2_Untranslatable_Word_project.jpg]

Clubs and activities also promote learning about cultural issues -- these are of course central themes for the French and Spanish clubs, and of their annual spring trips. But many other clubs, such as our new Nanta club (which focuses on a modern interpretation of traditional Korean percussion-playing), and Habitat for Humanity, also feature strong cultural perspectives.
 * [|Nanta performance video]

Issues related to Third Culture Kids have been featured by guest speakers, panel discussions, and alumni panels addressed to students, parents, and teachers. These issues have also been explored within the curriculum in Sociology projects.

Other examples can be found in Section C -- Curriculum, particularly under Standards C1.5, C1.10, and C3.4. || Acquisition of other languages
 * **5. The school provides students with opportunities for learning about issues that have local, national and global significance, leading to an understanding of human commonalities.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * Student survey results [|Student survey -- learning about issues.pdf]
 * Earlier this year, three student leaders (2 full Diploma students and 1 Certificate student) made a presentation to the school's governing body, urging the school to take steps to reduce its carbon footprint. As a result of this presentation, carbon emissions for travel related to Professional Development will be offset through contributions to our Roots and Shoots Million-Tree Project, and those organizing travel for other school-related activities are strongly encouraged to do the same. [|PD processes and carbon neutral memo.pdf]
 * TOK students worked in groups to create brief videos on the theme of world hunger. Here are links to two examples of these projects.
 * [|World Hunger Project Brenda]
 * [|World Hunger Project Ragna]
 * IB Theatre students explored issues related to prejudice and violence against homosexuals in a production of //**The Laramie Project**//. ||
 * **6. The school develops a climate of open communication and careful expression of ideas, attitudes and feelings.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * Communication between members of the community (teacher-student, student-student, teacher-teacher, teacher-parent, etc.) are in general conducted with a high degree of respect and openness.
 * Students and teachers both feel that an "open-door" culture exists, where students feel very welcome to seek out their teachers for curricular as well as personal questions.
 * IB students and parents feel that their teachers are responsive and helpful.
 * [|Student survey -- teacher consultation&help.pdf]
 * [|Student survey - Coord consultation&help.pdf]
 * [|Parent survey - consultation&help.pdf] ||
 * **7. The school provides resources that offer access to different cultures, perspectives and languages.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * For curricular resources, see Section C -- Curriculum, especially C1.10, C1.15, and C3.4.
 * All students in Grades 6-10 participate in China Alive trips to different areas of China.
 * Habitat for Humanity, Sports teams, arts groups, and World Language clubs also sponsor international trips.
 * The school subsidizes the cost of travel for China Alive and APAC trips. ||
 * **8. The school provides a safe, secure and stimulating environment based on understanding and respect.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * Safety and Respect are both elements of our SAS Core Values -- [|SAS Core Values]
 * The school is located within the Shanghai Links Executive Community, in an extremely safe environment. There are guards at the school 24 hours a day, with access only for community members and guests. We also have a school-wide Safety and Security Manager who monitors our policies and practices with regard to safety.
 * The school environment is also stimulating with purpose-built facilities to support a full range of curricular and co-curricular activities. [|Facilities] ||
 * **9.** **The school attaches importance to language learning through the development of each student’s mother tongue and the acquisition of other languages, including the host country language.** ||  ||   || X ||   ||
 * Evidence:
 * The study of a language other than English is part of the program at the Elementary, Middle, and High School levels. In Elementary School, all students study Chinese. In the Middle and High School, students choose among Chinese, French, and Spanish. High school offerings in these languages are shown below.
 * [|Chinese dept course offerings flowchart.pdf]
 * [|World language dept course offering flowchart.pdf]
 * Two years of credit in a language other than English are required for HS graduation, but nearly all our students attain three or four years' credit.

Mother-tongue development Ø Writing Center, available by appointment or drop-in, to serve high school students with individual writing feedback and conferencing. Ø Teachers provide scaffolding to ensure that spoken and written texts are comprehensible. Ø Teachers differentiate instruction to provide access to grade-level content for all students. Ø ESOL teachers provide embedded professional development about teaching English language learners (ELLs), in the form of workshops, emails and co-teaching. Ø In-class support is provided for ELLs targeted in 9th and 10th grade classes with greatest need (largest number of ELLs) which takes the form of co-planning, co-teaching and co-assessing. Ø ESOL Academic Literacy class in grades 9 & 10 provides direct, content-based English language instruction for a small number of students (~5%). This course takes the place of another foreign language class. Ø A list of students receiving ESOL support and their level of support is shared with all high school teachers Ø Some documents for parents of ELLs are translated into Chinese and Korean Ø Teachers regularly communicate with parents of students who receive ESOL support via email, phone and face-to-face meetings
 * We currently offer Chinese A1 and A2 as regular taught subjects, and will offer both Chinese A Literature and Chinese A Language and Literature starting in Fall 2011.
 * [|Chinese magazine Dec 2010.pdf]
 * We currently have students studying Dutch, Korean, Spanish, and Swedish as School-Supported Self-Taught languages, and in the past have also had students study French, German, and Japanese at this level.
 * We have had one student earn a bilingual diploma by writing a History EE in Spanish. She was supported by two faculty members, a Spanish teacher in the formal supervisory role, and a History teacher consulting on content-related questions. (We understand that in the future this will no longer be a route to a bilingual diploma.)
 * Other mother-tongue initiatives are more or less isolated instances. However, in connection with Standard C2.7, that all teachers are language teachers, we do have a shared understanding of the benefits of additive bilingualism. Teachers may allow students to adapt projects to include mother tongue and home cultural elements.
 * English 9 poetry project -- audio in Spanish, with English subtitles -- Santi Ortiz video
 * Two IB Theatre students staged a production in Mandarin as part of this year's Fringe Festival -- [|Cross-talk] ||
 * **10. The school supports members of its community for whom the school’s language of instruction is not their mother tongue.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:

Community documents routinely translated into Chinese and Korean. ||
 * ** 11. Where possible, the school ensures access to global information and recognizes the potential for wider communication through the availability and use of appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT). ** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * As noted previously, we have implemented a 1-1 laptop program in grades 6-11, with full implementation in grades 6-12 by fall 2011.
 * Professional development to support the implementation of the 1-1 laptop program has taken numerous forms, including after-school mini-workshops, Date Night with your Mac events, multi-day internal training, and the use of consultants, such as Jason Ohler, who was scholar-in-residence here over a period of a few weeks in October 2010.
 * The school's student and faculty networks make use of VPNs to ensure access to key sites which may not otherwise be accessible in China.
 * We subscribe to numerous online databases. [|Online databases] ||
 * **12. The school takes advantage of the international network of IB schools teaching the same programme through e-mail or personal exchanges and attendance at conferences and workshops.** ||  ||   ||   || X ||
 * Evidence:
 * We are fortunate first of all to be able to collaborate with our counterparts at our sister campus at SAS Puxi.
 * There is an IB-specific professional development budget which supports training for teachers new to IB, as well as Category 2 and 3 training for experienced IB teachers.
 * [|staffing training.pdf]
 * The DP Coordinator attends the IB Asia-Pacific annual regional conference every year.
 * We have sent groups of teachers to each of the last two IB Asia-Pacific teachers' conferences (and are sorry that such teachers' conferences have not been held for a couple years).
 * The superintendent attended the IB Americas regional conference in summer 2010 before starting at SAS in August 2010.
 * The DP Coordinator has actively supported the revival of the Shanghai area DP Coordinators' group this year, after a couple years of no meetings.
 * Nine teachers from the school participated in an all-day Saturday job-alike day for Shanghai area IB DP schools in January 2011, including four who volunteered to facilitate sessions. Shanghai IB job-alike wiki ||

** The statement of conclusions **

 * ===** Strengths **=== ||
 * A2.1 and A2.3 The diversity of cultures in the school is celebrated and featured in a variety of ways, including both special events and curricular and extra-curricular connections. Responsible citizenship is promoted in a similar variety of ways.

A2.12 Collaboration with teachers at other IB schools, at our sister campus, through the revived Shanghai IB schools network, by attending workshops and conferences, and through the OCC. ||


 * ====** Practices in need of strengthening **==== || ====** Proposals for improvement **==== ||
 * A2.4 and A2.9 The promotion of cultural identity and mother-tongue development || To be truthful, the number of other significant initiatives underway make it unlikely that we will be able to significant additions to our programs in this area in the near future. However, we can continue to promote the development of students' cultural identities and mother tongues through curricular and extra-curricular projects whenever possible. ||