About the course

Your pre-assignment will be emailed to you one week before your first online class session. You will receive details on how to log-in to your online class sessions one day before the start of the course.

Once the final online class session has concluded, you will have one week to submit your independent coursework and final assignment to your teacher.
 

Students are required to be present during all live online class sessions. However, your independent coursework can be completed at your leisure before the deadline one week after your online class ends. We wanted to create flexibility in completion as we know many au pairs now have increased work hours due to COVID-19.

Students who require their certificate sooner than outlined above should request their final assignment in advance by contacting BMCC at learningacrossamerica@bmcc.cuny.edu. Please note that BMCC needs two days from the date a student submits their final assignment to issue an educational certificate.

If you have any questions at this time, please email us at learningacrossamerica@bmcc.cuny.edu. Please continue to stay safe.
 

Educational Hours for the J-1 Visa:

Upon successful completion of the course students earn 36 credit hours.

Students are required to complete a pre-assignment to bring to the first day of class, and also a final project due one week after class. Students who complete their pre-assignment, final project, and attend all classes, will receive their certificate 10 days after the final class session.

About your instructor: Mariusz Galczynski is an education researcher and specialist in multicultural and international education. Although he has traversed the globe to present his scholarly work, he is proud to call Miami home. By day, he works as a secondary English Language Arts teacher at a high school in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. Outside of the classroom, he loves to explore the best of what Miami has to offer: its tropical environment, thriving arts scene, and diverse, vibrant communities. (photo by Danny Santiago)

About your Instructor

Melissa Shaw

Melissa Shaw is a facilitator who offers a unique consultancy based in the arts, social justice, diversity and inclusion, and social emotional learning. She has facilitated in universities, schools, summer camps, detention centers, yeshivas, churches, corporate offices, and long-term temporary housing centers. She has facilitated workshops for high school students, security guards, chaplains, non-profit managers, video game designers, Buddhist monks, school principals, older adults, NGO leaders, and the NYPD. She is a teaching artist and creative coach for various community-based organizations, including Community Word Project and the Lulu and Leo Fund. Melissa also facilitates for a variety of the Anti-Defamation League's programs, including its A World of Difference Institute, Words to Action, Echoes and Reflections and Respect for All initiatives. She was on faculty for Drew University's 2018 Institute On Religion and Conflict Transformation where she helped to foster dialogue among religious and lay leaders from around the world. She is the Arts and Communication Advisor for the Muslim Jewish Solidarity Commitee. Last summer, Melissa was part of the prestigious Nahum Goldmann Fellowship cohort. She is an associate artist with Falconworks Artist Group. Melissa holds an M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence College.

Your course will consist of a pre-assignment, independent coursework, and final assignment as well as live online class sessions with your teacher/other au pairs. Credit for J-1 visa students is 36 hours. Students earning J-1 visa credit must attend all sessions and complete all homework.

Once the final online class session has concluded, you will have one week to submit your independent coursework and final assignment to your teacher. Students are required to be present during all live online class sessions. However, your independent coursework can be completed at your leisure before the deadline one week after your online class ends. We wanted to create flexibility in completion as we know many au pairs now have increased work hours due to COVID-19. If you have any questions at this time, please email us at learningacrossamerica@bmcc.cuny.edu. Please continue to stay safe.
 

Andrea Seiger, author of 111 Places in Washington, DC You Must Not Miss, is an educator and world traveler who has lived in Washington DC for 33 years. She has lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has traveled thousands of miles on the Mayan Route of Mexico. Ms. Seiger loves to road trip around the Mid-Atlantic US and beyond.