Communications

As a member of our Participate Learning community, we strive to keep you informed and engaged. We hope that you’ll connect with our staff and other educators during your time with Participate Learning. We want to hear about all aspects of your Ambassador Teacher experience—the connections you make, cultural experiences you enjoy, leadership opportunities you embrace, and professional learning you engage in, as well as the diverse learning experiences you plan for your students.

We also hope you’ll share all of your accomplishments and tell us when you win awards or special recognitions, gain new certifications, or accomplish any of the goals you have set for yourself. Most of all, we want to follow your Participate Learning journey and witness the impact you have on your school, students, parents, and community as a whole.

Share your stories with us

Participate Learning wants to know about your experiences as an Ambassador Teacher! Are you holding a cultural or global education event at your school? Have you been honored with an award? Are you planning an exciting classroom lesson? Are you traveling with your students, fellow Ambassador Teachers, new American friends, or others? Have you found an interesting way to engage the community or partner with local businesses or organizations?

We may share your story on our website, in our online community or with the media. Please tell us about:

• Your cultural activity and project ideas
• Travel stories and study visits
• Honors and awards that you receive
• Anything else you’d like to share

Share your ideas, photos, accomplishments, and all of the above via the Ambassador Teachers community discussions, social media, or by emailing [email protected].

Interviews with newspapers and television reporters

Many Participate Learning Ambassador Teachers have opportunities to share their successes in creating international learning and cultural exchange experiences in their schools and communities. International and U.S. newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and even TV journalists have reported on the important work that Participate Learning Ambassador Teachers do to prepare students for an interconnected world. A positive news story adds a terrific activity to your resume, sharpens your public presentation skills, and connects you with friends, family, and colleagues in your home country.

If a reporter contacts you

If a member of the media reaches out to you, please let Participate Learning know immediately. We can help you organize your thoughts so you won’t be nervous and provide you with any information or materials that might be helpful.

• Email [email protected], provide us with the reporter’s name, media outlet, phone number, and any additional details you have to share.
• Give the reporter Participate Learning’s website (participatelearning.com) and the contact information for Michelle Macumber, our Director of Partner Experience and Communications ([email protected]).
• Inform us when the article or news story will be or is published or aired in the U.S. or abroad.

Preparing for a media interview

Be yourself! If you have been contacted by the media, it is because you are unique—a cultural exchange teacher, global educator, innovator, and a leader in education who deserves to be showcased. Be friendly, of course, but also be professional, diplomatic, and thoughtful in your responses and commentary. Reporters are storytellers; help them tell stories by sharing some of your own. For example:

• Your path—share why you joined Participate Learning and why you came to the U.S.
• New experiences—describe the interesting and exciting things about living in a new country and any lessons you’ve learned.
• Cultural exchange—explain how you share your culture with students and how they respond, what they have taken from those experiences, and how they have extended that learning to others.
• Your adventures and overall Ambassador Teacher experience—the connections you have made, U.S. cultural experiences you have embraced, leadership opportunities you’ve been given, professional development you have engaged in, the kind of learning experiences you provide for students, your goals for the future, and more!

No matter how friendly they may be, reporters are professionals doing their jobs. Sometimes a question may surprise you, so take your time. It is alright to politely decline to answer a question or ask if you can give it some thought and respond at a later time.

Ultimately, you are speaking to newspaper readers or TV viewers, not just the reporter. Share only what you would be comfortable reading in the newspaper or seeing on TV. Be careful in making cross-cultural comparisons. Participate Learning believes that different cultures (your country’s culture and U.S. culture) are not better or worse than one another—they are simply different, and the differences are what make cultural exchange so interesting and important. Avoid saying anything negative about your students or school, as parents or colleagues may take offense.

Tips for using social media

Keep in mind that most schools and districts will have policies relating to teacher duties and conduct, use of social media and other online technologies, and maintaining the privacy of student information. Failure to abide by these policies has, in the past, resulted in either serious reprimands, termination of the teacher or trainee by the district, and/or criminal charges. Please refer to your school district’s policies for more information regarding specific professional conduct standards.