A team from the educational leadership of the nation of Laos visited the Hope Technology School recently in an effort to learn from American educators how to build an infrastructure for education in their country.  With 47 different ethnic and linguistic groups in Laos, members from the Ministry of Education and the National Rehabilitation Center of Laos came to HTS interested in learning about inclusion and providing access to education for all children regardless of ability or ethnicity.

In an environment where basic utilities such as electricity are not consistent, education is difficult to sustain. The educational system faces a high rural population (affecting school size, cost, and maintenance) and a high dropout rate. The leadership team toured HTS with many questions about inclusion and how to empower local schools.

Amongst the delegates were the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Director of Teacher Training (MoE), the Director of Pre-school & Primary Education (MoE), the Head of Women & Ethnic Promotion Center (MoE), the Deputy Director of the National Rehabilitation Center, and members of the Catholic Relief Services in Laos. We're excited that our inclusive education is making impact not only in our local community but around the world as well.

At the Hope Technology School, we've been working to provide exceptional education for the families we serve in the Bay Area for over 7 years with the vision and hope of transforming the current educational paradigm. On November 7, 2007 we were honored to host a delegation of Japanese Public School teachers, administrators and officials from the Shibuya Ward who came to the US to study inclusion and learn how to better implement it in their education system to best meet every child's needs.  Their goal is to make their programs more inclusive.

We were able to share with them the history of our school and the incredible benefits that families of both typical children and children with special needs experience in our safe, inclusive environment. We discussed the outstanding test scores of our students, the low teacher-to-student ratios of our classrooms, character based education and tolerance.  Greatly impressed with our program, the delegates posed many questions; they will return to Japan and implement changes in their school system. We look forward to a continued relationship with them and the opportunity to affect education not only here at home, but around the world as well.