Dean of Academics Nat Waters and Head of School John C. Warren '74 recently announced that St. Mark's will be introducing a new Global Diploma program.
Recognizing that a global education is a critical component of a 21st century education, the current St. Mark's Global Citizenship Program, through both curricular and extracurricular offerings, encourages students to see and appreciate the distinctive features and the beauty that exist in the variety of cultures of the world, to appreciate the human universals that make all people more similar than different, and to inspire our students. To meet this goal, the Global Citizenship Program works to provide opportunities for all students to be exposed to global learning through the acquisition of the skills, habits of mind, and knowledge that will equip them to become global citizens. Thus the new Global Diploma opportunity.
The Global Diploma provides the opportunity for those students whose passion lies in the area of global citizenship to deepen their understanding of this topic. Global Diploma candidates will participate in a cohort that meets regularly and encourages reflection on their course of study and local and global engagement. Students will also complete a capstone experience that allows them to translate their curricular and extracurricular experiences to responsible action in the real world. Ideally students will join the cohort by the end of their first year at St. Mark's School so appropriate course planning can begin. The first Global Diploma will be awarded in 2020.
The elements of a global diploma will include:
- The Global Seminar—For students who enter St. Mark's in the III Form
- Advanced Studies in Global Citizenship—For all Global Diploma Candidates, to be taken in the V or VI Form Year
- Modern Languages Requirement—Global Diploma Candidates will be expected to gain proficiency in a modern language beyond the standard level 3 requirement. Accommodations may be made by the Global Diploma Committee for students whose focus to date has been in the Classics.
- Capstone Project—Students will be expected to take on a project that allows for a deep dive into a global topic
- Cohort Meetings—All Global Diploma candidates would participate in regular cohort meetings.
- Portfolio—Students will create a portfolio in Google Drive to track their reflections and academic work that will be submitted for consideration by the Global Diploma Committee.
- Participation in—The Global Citizenship Institute or other intercultural program; a travel program; on campus global activities
The Global Diploma committee will consist of The Academic Dean, The Director of Global Citizenship, The Director of Community and Equity Affairs, and a representative of the TGS teaching team who is also a Salzburg Fellow.
All questions should be directed to the Director of Global Citizenship, Dr. Laura Appell-Warren.
St. Mark's already offers regular diplomas, diplomas with distinction, and the Classics Diploma for students who qualify. The addition of the new Global Diploma reflects one of the key pillars of the recent SM 2020 Strategic Plan.
"With the creation of the Global Diploma, we deliver on a key element of the Global Citizenship vision articulated in the SM 2020 Strategic Plan," says Dean of Academics Nat Waters. "Global competence, which scholars Veronica Boix Mansilla and Anthony Jackson define as, 'The capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance,' is a natural fit for a school dedicated to inspiring 'lives of leadership and service.' Today, St. Markers display this global competence within and beyond the curriculum: sharpening their perspective-taking skills in Religion classes, engaging in a Community and Equity dialogue, encountering a new culture on a school trip, conducting research with an eye towards the public good in the STEM Fellowship, and communicating with fluency in a language course. We are excited to award the Global Diploma distinction to students whose St. Mark's narrative has been shaped by deep engagement with Global Citizenship."