ASSIST Turns 40 in 2008/09!
The 2008/09 academic year marks ASSIST’s 40th year placing outstanding international scholars at prominent American independent secondary schools. Beginning with founder Paul Sanderson’s first class of 13 German students in the 1969/70 academic year, ASSIST has now discovered, placed and supported more than 3,700 scholars from 35 countries. As well, 120+ students and teachers from American member schools have undertaken yearlong or summer study programs abroad under the ASSIST banner. Most recently, we welcomed the Class of 2008/09 to their Orientation at Pomfret School – 130 scholars from 14 nations who are now attending 88 American independent schools.
As ASSIST turns 40, we have been asking the same questions that an individual might: How have we done? How are we different? What lies ahead for us? The Board of Directors has for several years been committed to long range, strategic planning, based in part upon the principles of Jim Collins (Good to Great; Built to Last). Here are a selection of the ideas and answers we have generated:
What’s New
Logo and Tag Line
You may already have noticed that the ASSIST logo has benefited from a makeover to update our visual presentation. While the logo reminds one of the traditional ASSIST logo (and there were several over 40 years!), it also points to the future and prominently features the globe. As well, we have added our first tag line – Today’s Scholars. Tomorrow’s Leaders. – that we believe represents well the foundation of the program – bringing into close contact the future leaders of many nations.
Web Site
With many thanks to CEO Richard Rotman and the staff of PAID, Inc., who undertook the project on a pro bono basis, the ASSIST web site has been completely redesigned and renavigated. The current version completes Stage I development – Stage II will be the creation of an on-line community that facilitates contact among ASSIST family members worldwide.
New Countries
ASSIST now actively recruits in 14 countries (Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Vietnam). Our goal in the years ahead is to identify new regions underrepresented in member schools and to map out a plan of gradual expansion. Areas of initial interest: the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia.
Moderate Growth: New Schools – More Scholarships
In 2008/09, 88 independent schools are members of ASSIST, and we plan to add five schools annually for the foreseeable future. Interest in international issues and globalization is strong in American secondary schools, and as members seek to incorporate these themes into their curricula, they are turning with more frequency to ASSIST to enroll scholars who make a notable difference in this effort.
Director of Alumni Relations
This past spring, we appointed Eleanore Boyse to the new post of Director of Alumni Relations. We are thrilled by the energy, creativity and vision she is already bringing to her role. The position is part-time for the present, and is based in Germany. The long-term plan is to secure full-time funding and to extend Eleanore’s responsibilities to all ASSIST alumni. This focus on our alumni also includes the first Alumni elected to the ASSIST Board of Directors: Dr. Yi-ming Yang, Taft School ’87, China, and Sean Harris, St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School ’95, Germany.
What’s Not New
Excellence
The foundation of the ASSIST program remains our commitment to excellence. We remain the only organization of our kind, placing each student on scholarship at an American independent school. As boarding school tuitions now routinely crest $40,000, and schools examine how they spend their scholarship funds, it is a pleasure to report that the number of ASSIST full scholarships continues to grow. This is directly attributable to the outstanding contributions made by ASSIST scholars at the most rigorous set of schools in the U.S.
Personal Relationships
The staff and volunteer leaders of ASSIST continue to manage the organization by developing close ties with colleagues at member schools, by continuing pre-departure and U.S.-based Orientation programs, by staying in touch with scholars during their ASSIST years, and by bringing the positive, personal qualities of a small business to a worldwide operation. This is only achievable because of the enormous commitment of a stunning number of volunteers.
Life-Changing Experiences
The families of the first 13 students in 1969/70 probably heard from their children infrequently, and then only by correspondence on that funny, blue, tissue-like overseas notepaper that folded in on itself and took weeks to reach Germany. Now, students text parents from Logan Airport upon arrival, start a blog at Orientation, and send pictures home of their every activity. So much has changed in the landscape over 40 years…
…And yet, the core of the experience is unchanged. When speaking to alumni from 1970 or 2008, when chatting with school colleagues who have taught 50 ASSIST students or just their first, we continue to hear about lives having been transformed. Surely, the lives of the ASSIST scholars are transformed, as almost all note in their year-end questionnaires. However, the multiplier effect is even more profound: classmates, host families, teachers, coaches and advisors; friends and family back home – countless people are touched by an experience that begins with a school of vision offering a scholarship and a courageous teenager accepting the opportunity to live away for home from a year of challenge and commitment.
Middle Age Looks Good!
As we prepare to celebrate ASSIST’s 40th anniversary, we are proud of our distinguished history and equally enthused by our strategic direction. We look forward to celebrating with you in the year ahead. Turning 40 has never looked so good!
With warm regards,
Bob Stanley
President
