The Foreign Service Journal - December 2017

88 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT ies by accessing virtual schooling sites to complete teacher-developed modules or otherwise. Created in 2002, in association with the Office of Overseas Schools and the staff and students of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia, the World Virtual School Project was initially used to support the March 2002 evacuation of the International School of Islamabad. WVS assists participating schools and regions in terms of curriculum quality and continuity, opportunities for collabo- ration, progressive professional develop- ment and resiliency in the face of natural or manmade emergencies. The program is offered in 85 schools around the world, and almost all of the remaining State Department–assisted schools have their own online programs that are capable of supporting temporary continuation of schooling should an evacuation of our students occur. A“School” in the Hotel P roviding an opportunity for the kids to get together to do a few structured activities was comforting for them. Setting up a “school” in a hotel is not a long-term solution, but I do believe it helped the children to adapt and deal with the sudden change. I think it was a relief for them to see familiar faces and know they were all going through this together. —Brooke Fox, evacuated from Kinshasa to Brazzaville in 2016