The Walter Payton Preparatory High School Model

Payton students videoconferencing with peers in Morocco while Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and several Ambassadors to the United States look on. (U.S. Chief of Protocol)

• Walter Payton Students Meet with Chinese President

Traveling internationally is not “foreign” to Walter Payton College Preparatory Academy students. In the past decade, the school faculty worked hard to make sure that in order to live up to the school motto—“We Nurture Leaders”— it includes a global vision of leadership. We’ve asked former school principal Ellen Estrada to share with our readers how her school community did it. -The Editors

by Ellen Estrada

After September 11, 2001, the leadership of Walter Payton Preparatory High School chose to reach out to the world through the use of modern technology and student exchanges. Knowing the implications of an interconnected world for their students, the school decided that the world would become Payton’s classroom.

Payton’s motto, “We Nurture Leaders,” recognizes the critical need for students to understand and connect to the world, and to develop cultural competencies and multiple perspectives on issues and events. In the video-conferencing lab and with email and video projects, students linked to young people around the world to share knowledge, ideas and to form friendships and build relationships.

Traveling internationally became integral to the experience of Payton students and teachers. During the past several years, students have visited sister schools and educational institutions in 21 cities on five continents. This article examines how the exchange programs are set-up and how we find funding for them.

Please read more here.