2021 Elections: Call for Nominations

Do you want to make friends, stay connected to your time on JET and be involved in the Japan community in the Southeast? Now's your chance - become a JETAASE officer!

Anyone within our membership can run for office, you do not need to physically live in Atlanta where the consulate is located. Board meetings are held online monthly for approximately an hour. Training for each role is available by previous Board members! We are asking for platforms of all interested candidates to be submitted by February 14 to info@jetaase.org. If you’re interested in joining the JETAASE board, please submit a platform!

What we need:

• Less than 200 words

• Self-introduction, including where and when you were on JET

• What you want to accomplish in your time as an officer

• Headshot if you’d like to share one

The following positions are open:

Vice President – The Vice President provides both leadership and follow-through on planned projects. The Vice President supports the President and the Board, remains current on chapter initiatives and projects, and facilitates the President’s role.

Secretary – The Secretary records the minutes for all meetings with the Board and ensures the meetings are stored and shared appropriately. The Secretary archives and documents JETAASE information at all levels. The Secretary collaborates with the Social Media Chair and Webmaster to provide public relations support in chapter communications and represents the chapter at public events.

Treasurer – The Treasurer plans the annual budget in conjunction with the Board. The Treasurer maintains and balances the bank account, collects receipts and writes checks for any chapter expenses, and deposits checks. The Treasurer oversees the Venmo account and reimbursements. The Treasurer requests funding and then submits the follow up reports and receipt submissions to CLAIR yearly.

Social Media Chair – The Social Media Chair manages our external presence on our social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The Social Media Chair creates and promotes events on all platforms including Zoom, and issues timely reminders. The Social Media Chair designs infographics to be used on all communications, collaborating with the Newsletter Editor and Webmaster.

Newsletter Editor – The Newsletter Editor compiles information from various sources and composes email newsletters to share the details of events and other resources with our membership. The Newsletter Editor collaborates with the rest of the Board to ensure information is disseminated in a timely manner. Newsletters should be composed at least quarterly. No previous experience with Constant Contact necessary.

Webmaster – The Webmaster manages our external communications and our strong online presence. The Webmaster keeps content up to date on the website and posts content to the website, such as job descriptions and events for the calendar. The Webmaster maintains and organizes the officer-accessible documents and resources, and manages the shared email account, responding to all inquiries. The Webmaster collaborates with the Social Media chair and Newsletter Editor on communications to members, infographics, membership lists, and surveys. Previous experience with Google Drive, and website design (Squarespace) is not required.

Plans announced to place ALT's in all primary schools in Japan!

ALTs To Be Placed in All Primary Schools

(Via The Yomiuri Shimbun, JETWit.com)
The government has decided to increase the number of Assistant Language Teachers considerably over a five-year period, starting from the next school year, to strengthen English education at primary schools.

Aiming to create a system in which ALTs will be assigned to all public primary schools by the 2019 school year, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry and the Foreign Ministry plan to increase the number of ALTs by about 2,300 over five years as a national project. Combined with ALTs who are hired independently by municipalities, the ministries intend to expand the total number of ALTs to 20,000, or 1.5 times the current level, by the 2019 school year.

The education ministry has decided to lower the starting age for English education from the current fifth year of primary school to the third year by the 2020 school year, and make it an official subject from the fifth year.

Experts have said it is important to secure a sufficient number of native English speakers, and utilize them to enhance the learning environments for students.

About 800 ALTs first came to Japan in 1987 when the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program was launched as a state international exchange project. As of 2002, the number of ALTs had increased to about 5,600, but it began to decrease after that due to financial problems. The current number is about 4,100.

Besides ALTs on the JET Program, about 8,000 ALTs hired independently by municipalities and other organizations have been dispatched to local primary and middle schools across the nation. In some cases, an ALT teaches at several schools.

According to experts, considerable disparity exists among the nation’s 21,000 public primary schools. While some schools have resident ALTs, some schools are visited by an ALT once about every six months.

The government therefore plans to increase the number of ALTs in the JET Program in stages. From the 2020 school year onward, English lessons will increase from the current once a week to three times a week for fifth-grade and sixth-grade students. Third-grade and fourth-grade students will have English lessons once or twice a week, and the education ministry plans to have ALTs frequently instruct students in English classes.

The budget for English education utilizing ALTs is expected to increase from about ¥30 billion this school year to about ¥50 billion a year eventually. The government also plans to launch a subsidy system for supporting municipalities that independently hire ALTs.

ALT

An ALT assists Japanese teachers in teaching foreign languages such as English at primary, middle and high schools. In addition to ALTs who come to Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, a state international exchange project, others are directly hired by municipalities or private organizations contracted to dispatch ALTs.

From the 2011 school year, foreign language studies became compulsory for fifth-grade and sixth-grade primary school students. The role of ALTs has expanded to include assisting with pronunciation and listening comprehension.