SHERMAN, TEXAS - This time of year, many people are thinking about the start of the school year and attending orientation sessions to learn processes and plans for the days ahead. In the midst of that preparation, members of Austin College's Austin Teacher Program faculty took time for a little different orientation - discussing their work preparing students for the teaching profession in the United States with a delegation of visitors from Japan.

Thirteen high school teachers, principals, and administrators from Japan are visiting a number of sites in Texas this week, to compare the educational systems of their nation and the United States. Their trip was arranged through the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund (JFMF) Teacher Program, sponsored by the government of Japan, and designed to increase understanding between the people of Japan and the United States.

Faculty of the Austin Teacher Program participating in the discussion were Barbara Sylvester, department chair and associate professor of education; Tom Baker, professor of education; Julia Shahid, associate professor of education, Jane White, associate professor of education; and John White, associate professor of education.  Connie Baker, director of Instruction and Staff Development for the Sherman ISD, joined the group to provide information on public school education in Texas. Austin College senior Brandon McInnis of Dallas served as translator for the session.

The Japanese educators' U.S. visit includes stops at Sanger Independent School District (ISD) to view alternative education programs, Plano ISD where they will visit elementary and middle schools, Prestonwood Christian Academy for private education, and Fort Worth ISD for another look at alternative schools. The educators also will be hosted at a reception by the Japan America Society of Dallas.

Tim Jones of Callisburg High School is the guide for the various stops of the visit.

The Japanese visitors' educational specialties range from homemaking to physics. Their homes and schools are in Aichi, Osaka, Hokkaido, and Hiroshima, Japan.

Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located just north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope's influential book Colleges that Change Lives.