UPDATE ON INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Now that we are about one-half of the way through the school year, I’d like to get you an update on the international student experience at Clinton High School:

• Fourteen students took classes during the first trimester.  Two more international students will begin classes the first day of second trimester, November 27.
• CIEG is allowing the Clinton Iowa Big program to be hosted at the Durgin Center on the New Six Arts International Education Park.  The Iowa Big programs across the state have a premise on being hosted off campus and the Durgin Center will serve as home base as our students.
• We are still waiting for our I-17 SEVIS application to be amended to include the New Six Arts International Educational Park as an instructional site for Clinton High School.  CIEG has agreed for the school district to offer classes in the state of the art facilities that were renovated by Ashford University.  However, we cannot educate international students in Clinton High School classes other than the 817 8th Avenue address until SEVIS approves amending our application to include the second address.  This amendment was sent in June.
• The Pangaea International Academy received its Iowa Department of Education accreditation in November.  The next step for Pangaea is to submit its own SEVIS I-17 application.  The motivation for Pangaea to issue I-20 to international students is that federal law allows private schools to offer up to four years while public schools are limited to one year.  Nearly all of our international students are freshmen or sophomores and would like to complete their high school educations through Clinton High School.

Lastly, the international students have blended into our Clinton High School population very well.  I believe as time progresses, the international students will begin to participate more in the extracurricular activities that Clinton High School offers.