Global Studies

The Global Studies Program

As part of the School’s mission to prepare students for college and for life, Marywood-Palm Valley School is dedicated to opening students’ eyes to different cultures.  We are global citizens as much as we are citizens of the United States, California, or the Coachella Valley.

MWPV’s faculty began designing a Global Studies program for Kindergarten through grade 12 during the 2007/8 School year, with the following mission statement:

An MWPV education should make global connections whenever possible and inspire world citizenship. MWPV will provide students with a foundation of knowledge and appreciation of world history, geography, ecology, religions, cultures, and languages. Our students will celebrate the benefits of cultural diversity in the classroom, at the school, in the United States, and in the world. Our students will learn how to approach political, social, ecological, and economic systems from multiple perspectives. Our students will be equipped with the skills to explore, research, discuss, and understand the world’s pressing issues in order to work with others toward solutions to those problems.

Teachers have expanded existing coursework, adding current events discussions, art projects, and international emphases in research projects. The Upper School faculty plan to add new courses in international relations, Asian studies, and international filmmaking.

International Students

MWPV seeks to host international students, especially Upper School students, who can add diversity to the student body and international perspective to the classroom environment. During the 2008/9 School year, MWPV hosted 10 international students: eight Korean students ranging from 5th to 8th grade, and two 11th graders, one from Austria and one from Germany. In 2009/10, MWPV hosted Upper School students from Hungary, South Korea, Thailand, and Tonga.  This school year the school is hosting 12 Upper School students from six countries (China, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Tonga) and once again will host Korean Middle School students for one month in January.

MWPV is certified through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to issue the I-20 form needed for the F-1 student visa. A student must be officially accepted to the school before an I-20 form can be assigned. The school requires English proficiency of F-1 visa international students, as well as proof of financial support and evidence that the student is academically capable to work successfully within an advanced college-prep curriculum.

Contact Admissions Director, Tonya Carr, for More Information and a Personal Tour