Our History

Photo courtesy of Victoria Bellerose, Loudoun County Public Schools

Over the past 20 years, VIF's innovative approach to international education has positively influenced the lives of more than one million students, educators and community members.

VIF began hosting K-12 teachers in 1989 in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The first group of 12 international teachers worked in 10 North Carolina counties as language teachers. In 1996, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction asked VIF to provide teachers in other subject areas.

Since then, VIF has expanded to include international education programs, supporting the teaching of 21st-century skills, promoting effective cultural exchange, and helping to achieve key objectives of the U.S. Department of State, including language study, global literacy and public diplomacy.

A Broad Reach

Over the history of the program, VIF has sponsored 8,500 educators from more than 70 nations. Our highly qualified and experienced teachers have worked in more than 1,500 U.S. schools in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Maryland, and California.

Today, VIF's reach is global, and the program recruits worldwide in countries as diverse as Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and Venezuela.

A Record of Success

VIF teachers have more than a 90 percent success rate, according to the school districts that host the teachers. More than 80 percent of VIF teachers receive "outstanding/superior" or "above average" ratings from host districts.