About Us

Reactivating the education of

The seeds of Global Village Project were planted in 2007 by a group of volunteers who came together to support and tutor five teenaged Afghan girls in Clarkston, Georgia. By 2009, they’d founded Global Village Project, the only school in the country dedicated to meeting the educational needs of refugee young women and preparing them for high school. As current and former educators, the founders had witnessed the specific and unique challenges facing refugee students who entered the public school system, including the task of learning English concurrently with their academic studies.

About Global Village Project | GVP
About Global Village Project | GVP

More than a decade later, these challenges persist. English Language Learners (ELLs) in Georgia graduate at a rate of just 43.9%, compared to an overall graduation rate of 72.5% for native speakers (NPR “5 Million Voices” project, 2017). On top of learning a new language, refugee students must also navigate new cultural and social settings. These barriers are especially pronounced for young women, who on average receive fewer years of schooling prior to arriving in the U.S. than their male counterparts, and who often have additional responsibilities for family support.

Recognizing these and other disparities in academic outcomes for marginalized students, the GVP model was designed from the ground up to remove the barriers to refugee girls’ learning and amplify their strengths and voices. Today, GVP continues to equip refugee learners with a holistic education that prepares them for long-term success. At the heart of our work remains our commitment to advancing educational equity, empowering and uplifting young women who will help lead us into this future.

Strengths Based Approach Steam Education For Refugee Girls | GVP

Our Commitment to

DiversityEquityInclusion

Global Village Project values and honors Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and strives to practice its Guiding Principles. GVP believes that embracing diversity, equity and inclusion as organizational values will intentionally make space for positive outcomes to flourish.

The following are our Guiding Principles for DEI practice:

Diversity

The quality of being different or unique at the individual or group level.

Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ and all the characteristics that make one individual or group distinct from another. While diversity is often spoken of in terms of race or ethnicity, it includes a spectrum as diverse as one can imagine, that which reflects each of us as individuals. This can include age, ethnicity, gender, language, nationality, parental status, ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, class, work and behavior styles—and more.

Equity

An approach that ensures everyone has access to the same opportunities.

Equity is a process that promotes justice and fairness by acknowledging uneven starting places and seeking to correct the imbalance. Tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the underlying or root causes of outcome disparities within our society. Equity is distinct from equality in that equality is treating everyone “the same,” which only works if everyone starts from the same place and all need the same help. Equity makes the necessary adjustments to ensure fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all.

Inclusion

Valuing the perspectives and contributions of all people.

Diversity exists in social systems, while inclusion must be created. In order to leverage diversity, an environment must be created where people feel supported, listened to, and able to do their personal best, ensuring a safe, affirming, respectful and responsive environment. Every person’s voice adds value, and no one person can or should be called upon to represent an entire community.

GVP

Core Values

In addition to the Guiding Principles of DEI, we expect all of our community members to take up, teach, and model these core values:

  • Respect

  • Responsibility

  • Lifelong Learning

  • Kindness

  • Appreciation

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