PACIE Advocacy

PACIE has a rich history of advocating to develop the political will and policies necessary to create global ready graduates for Pennsylvania’s workforce, including by relationship building with government officials and legislators.

Through its advocacy efforts in 2017 to establish a Global Education Taskforce, PACIE established connections with Secretary Carolyn Dumaresq as well as an education consultant who assisted PACIE in networking in Harrisburg with a wide variety of officials from the Department of Education as well as Capitol Hill. PACIE members met with more than thirty State Senators and House of Representatives, worked to regain the naming of the Governor School for Global and International Education, and preserved an excellent relationship with the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Education. Through these relationships, new legislation was proposed to re-engage the state in a conversation on what global learning can and should look like in the contemporary classroom. While PACIE advocated for the completion and implementation of this legislation, the legislation ultimately did not pass. However, PACIE made significant strides during this process and continues to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, in order to be a guiding force in conversations in and beyond Pennsylvania that inform the continuously evolving field of international education.

Restructuring of the PACIE board in 2023, which introduced Vice President for Higher Education and Vice President for K-12 roles, enabled PACIE to dedicate advocacy efforts to renewed relationship building in and beyond Harrisburg. Since 2023, PACIE recognized the increasing need to coordinate messaging as we advocate for global education, and has identified and continues to engage key stakeholders across the Commonwealth, such as Study Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania International Education Stakeholders Roundtable convened by the U.S. Commercial Service, and the Global Education Hub in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, in 2024, PACIE has paid close attention to Governor Shapiro’s proposed blueprint for higher education, historic investment in primary and secondary education in Pennsylvania, and economic strategy. To that end, following the PACIE Board of Directors’ Spring 2024 Board Retreat, PACIE board members and friends from the U.S. Commercial Service, Study Pennsylvania, and International House of Philadelphia, convened in Harrisburg for productive meetings with the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Community and Economic Development and U.S. Commercial Service Harrisburg. Goals of these meetings were to develop and strengthen relationships linking PACIE, global education across higher education and K-12, the PA Department of Education, and Governor Shapiro’s proposed economic strategy.

In 2024, PACIE will continue to connect with stakeholders in and across Pennsylvania, as well as nationally at the annual NAFSA conference, and with school districts and intermediate units, as we build a shared message among Pennsylvania global educators and remain a guiding force for preparing global ready graduates. We hope that you will join us at the 2024 PACIE conference in October to hear updates and to join us in PACIE’s continued advocacy efforts and plans.