In March, many education consultants gathered in person at the MK Education Summit near Atlanta…
PACE Highlight: “Education Planning for Families in Transition”
Today’s article is by Kay Baker, a member of PACE’s leadership team. Kay is responsible for all activities related to PACE’s “Education Planning for Families in Transition” course. Kay serves as an education consultant with SHARE Education Services and lives with her husband and son in Sweden. When she’s not consulting with families, she sings with a local gospel choir and hosts dozens of visitors in her home each year.
Education Planning for Families in Transition is an online course in which an education consultant leads families through information and activities regarding educational options available in their area of service as well as TCK issues. By the end of the course families have a well-researched and practical plan for educating their children overseas. Plus, the education consultant and parents have established a supportive relationship that will provide a platform for future interactions.
Here’s some feedback we’ve received from families who have gone through the course with their consultant:
“We knew that we needed to think about our girls’ education, but knowing we need to do it and making the time to do it are two separate things. There were things in this course (for example, learning styles) that we wouldn’t have considered on our own. This course gave us confidence in our move. We feel like we know what to expect.”
“It is nice to have thought through these issues before arrival on the field. Decisions made under high stress are often not good. I also feel better prepared to help my children with issues of identity/belonging when they come.”
“It has been a huge help. It helped us to really start thinking about the ramifications of having TCK’s in our family. Additionally, it forced us to think through and investigate all the educational options available to us. It actually caused us to rethink our original plans for our children’s education. I think it helped prepare all of us for the transition ahead.”
“We had done a lot of this work in previous years through various avenues: interviews with field-mates and visits to schools on the field, through five weeks of training at MTI, and through our required [organizational] trainings. We still feel this course was beneficial though in that it helped us to specifically define our goals for each child, take time to focus on who they are individually, and then agree together as a couple what the plan for them is. We both had unexpressed ideas about our children’s educations, and this course caused us to voice them and talk through them. There was also a lot of new information that we did learn, specifically about learning styles, language acquisition and cultural adaptation.”
“It gives me some confidence in this overwhelming time. Having already been guided through the possibilities, we don’t feel as we are going into this blind. I’ve had friends who have gone into the field with children who have not done this course and wished it was an option for them as I’ve explained it.”
Join us February 9-13 for a Preview Week, where you’ll have a chance to view the overall format and two of the six modules. You will have the opportunity to interact with Kay Baker, one of the course developers, as she shows you how use some of the course tools.
After this preview, if this tool is something you would like to use with your agency, the next step is taking a two-week facilitator training course. This course trains you as the consultant in guiding families through the course, and is intended for any education consultant whose agency has committed to taking families through the course.
If you are interested, please contact us at EducationPlanning@
*Note: In order to assure that facilitators (education consultants) are equipped to lead the course both in terms of content and technology, we require that facilitators complete PACE’s Introduction to Education Consulting course prior to leading families through the Education Planning for Families in Transition course.
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