Minister Evarist Bartolo to visit educational institutions in Philadelphia

The Minister of Education and National Culture, Evarist Bartolo has accepted the invitation of Rowan University of New Jersey and of Dr. Terry Dozier, Education Consultant to the State Department of the USA, to visit educational institutions in Philadelphia and to hold meetings with the US Secretary of State for Education, Hon. Richard Riley in Washington.

Minister Bartolo will also be present for the signing of a co-operation agreement in Education between Rowan and the University of Malta. During his five day visit Minister Bartolo will be meeting teaching staff from different primary schools which integrate regular classroom teaching with innovative learning strategies, especially in the fields of Distance Education, Inclusive Education and Information Technology.

The Minister will tour a number of schools which adopt the "CREATIVE AMERICA" approach and/or have been recipients of a "U.S. Goals 2000 Grant" which are good markers for successful schools. Minister Bartolo will also be visiting Alloway Public School which is considered to be one of the best examples of Second-Chance Education Centres in the USA.

A focused teachers' seminar has been set up by Dr. Christine Johnstone, who was in Malta on her LETMELEARN campaign late last year and who visited schools in Malta, for Minister Bartolo to meet 16 teachers who work in different fields of Education across the USA. It is envisaged that the meeting will lead to closer collaboration in the educational field between Malta and the USA. The visit will take place from Monday, April 21st. He will be accompanied by Dr. Joseph Mifsud, Head of Department of Primary Education, Faculty of Education, University of Malta.