Fund for Teachers has announced our 23^rd cohort of grant recipients, bringing our total investment in nearly 10,000 preK-12 teachers to $37,000 million. This year’s FFT Fellows represent our largest percentage of Teachers of Color, 365 public/private/charter schoolteachers from 36 states and the District of Columbia.

Meet our 2024 FFT Fellows

Fund for Teachers grants support teachers as the primary learner in the classroom and trusts they know best what their students need to advance academically and emotionally. That’s why there is relatively no limitation on what a teacher can propose to learn, or where they propose to learn it. Over the past 24 years, FFT Fellows have pursued new knowledge, skills, and perspectives in 170 different countries on every continent.

“A curious teacher who recognizes students’ learning gaps, honors their lived experiences, and actively seeks innovative solutions will change the lives of those students and their families,” said Karen Eckhoff, Fund for Teachers’ executive director.  Our Fellows are models of what can happen when teachers are respected professionals and valued as agents of change.”

Fund for Teachers also invests in teachers by awarding Innovation Circle Grants that fuel Fellows’ independent research during the summer, followed by virtual collaboration with other Fellows throughout the fall followed by classroom implementation in the spring.

We are excited to begin introducing these exemplary teachers and invite you to follow their fellowships throughout the summer on our Facebook, Instagram, blog and podcast!

Today is a once-in-a-lifetime event, as he moon passes between Earth and the sun for a total eclipse — the perfect event to capture students’ imagination across math, English and art classes. That’s what FFT Fellow Jerry Hites, thought anyway, when he proposed an Innovation Circle Grant last year.

Jerry’s school, Fairport Harding High School in Fairport, OH, sits in the path of totality, which means thousands of visitors are flocking to the region to experience 3 minutes 49.9 seconds of totality. Jerry wanted to build on the local significance of the event, and his teaching team was over the moon to join in.

“I haven’t team taught in a long time, but my colleagues were excited about using the eclipse as a lens for our students to study in-depth and examine their perspectives and that of the world around them,” Jerry said. “Learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum and teaching shouldn’t either which is why this project involves science, geography, math, art, and ELA.” 

Nine months earlier, Jerry used a Fund for Teachers Innovation Circle Grant to witness the impact of art on a small town. He visited the Starland District of Savannah, GA, a revitalized area made up of shops that expand on peoples’ talents. Then, through monthly, virtual meetings with other Fellows throughout the fall, he arrived upon the idea of this solar eclipse project:

• • English students read A Few Beautiful Minutes, Voices in the Park and The Day You Begin, and used examples of reference books to draw their own picture books for elementary students.
  • Art students created pieces using black chalk paper, pastel chalks and glow in the dark paints in space donated by the First Congregational Church.
  • Math students constructed maps and timelines converting the path into mathematical formulations. And,
  • Special education students theorized on past, present and future impact on the local region, specifically Fairport.

One of Jerry’s students designed an I Was There 4-8-24 T-shirt to sell at a local vintage store (image headlining this post). All 100 students in his classes got to do a chalk design, canvas painting and all received a copy of A Few Beautiful Minutes. “The excitement hasn’t died down yet,” Jerry said.

Later this week, his students will present about the eclipse, and their projects, to elementary students and the town’s school board.

“The driving question for this project was: We make decisions all the time. When we make these decisions, are we walking out of the darkness into the light or out of the light into the darkness?” Jerry said. “The choice is ours.” 

You can watch Jerry’s presentation about his Innovation Circle Grant and this particular project here.

“We have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present.”

This excerpt from New York Times bestseller The Body Keeps the Score resonates with Michelle Moyer and her students for different reasons. During Michelle’s fifteen-year career as an elementary teacher, she experienced domestic abuse and subsequent diagnoses of Multiple Sclerosis and breast cancer. Her second graders at Mohegan Elementary in Uncasville, CT, also exhibit physical symptoms of trauma caused by a different set of issues, including:

• being bullied by sibling with no adult intervention
• witnessing arguments and verbal abuse between divorced parents
• fear of caregivers, and
• parents’ substance abuse and serious health issues.

“Due to my own life experience with trauma and anxiety, I can identify and understand many of the [trauma-induced] behaviors the students are exhibiting,” wrote Michelle in her grant proposal. “I know the challenges and difficulties associated with processing and moving past these feelings and I want to help my students successfully conquer, or in the very least, begin their journey to conquer them.”

Their mutual path to wholeness involved a Fund for Teachers grant and a rowboat.

Last summer with a $5,000 grant, Michelle learned to row a single shell on lakes in Italy. She designed this unique fellowship to engage in personal trauma recovery as a role model for students with trauma and to revise a social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum using skills and strategies learned to build a safe, supportive classroom community.

Rowing with a local club was already playing a role in Michelle’s recovery. The activity aligned with the four steps to trauma recovery documented in Dr. Jennifer Sweeton’s book Trauma Treatment Toolbox by:

1. Providing a safe space of acceptance and individuality;
2. Fostering community, healthy connections, and a sense of belonging;
3. Helping to realign emotional systems, and;
4. Igniting a new self to dream and hope for a joyful and successful future.

Designing this particular fellowship was the next step for her and her students.

“My fellowship provided intensive, guided instruction with a one-on-one coach designed to focus on skills such as self-trust, risk-taking, adapting to unfamiliar circumstances, physical challenges, asking for help, receiving constructive criticism, trusting someone else, potential trauma triggers, and facing failures,” said Michelle. “It encompassed the same four steps I want my students to experience, so this grant supported my own journey through trauma to inform and increase understanding of my students with trauma.”

“My very first day of rowing, was in a coastal boat, which I had zero experience in. I was soooo nervous!” she said. “It was also one of the hottest days of the summer. Being nervous, and now fearing my MS may come into play due to the heat, I hesitated. I paused, took some mindful moments, processed my fear, and said ‘I will NOT allow fear to take this from me.’ I got in the boat. Acclimating to the boat, I began to row. I began to row strong! Best Rowing! Best Rowing! the Italian coach cheered!”

Michelle is now modeling for her students what resiliency and healing look like. She’s also refining an SEL curriculum that includes specific activities to help students begin to think about, define, and create a positive self-identity.

“I want to show them the possibilities truly are endless for their young selves, IF they ALLOW themselves to try!” Michelle said. “Through journals, role play, read alouds, discussions (I researched, bought, and organized many new books), and relationships (making sure I dedicate time to talk and listen to each student), I am committed to connecting and discovering the needs of each student.”

She is also leveraging her personal growth to see her students through a new lens and guide a pedagogy switch from behavior management to behavior modification. “No more reacting to behaviors,” she said, “but leaning-in to them with the student to understand ‘the why.’”

“Through therapy, personal reflection, and exercise I am only now discovering myself, my authentic self,” said Michelle. “It has been a long and difficult journey, but very rewarding. One that equipped me to help my students on a new level — especially vital in this new world of pandemics. I want to be that one person, that one place, where my students have the chance to find out how the beautiful the world really is!”

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Michelle Moyer is a second-grade teacher who has taught in Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. She believes teaching and learning in the elementary classroom should be meaningful, integrative, value-based, challenging, and active. Michelle empowers her students through comprehensive SEL and restorative practices, collaborative environments, and high standards. A teacher for 15 years, her career accomplishments include being an FFT Fellow and earning a master’s degree in education.

Kicking off Women’s History Month, we share this fascinating fellowship designed by two teachers from Alpine, Texas.

“An American woman with a prosthetic leg, a Black woman born into poverty and segregation, and a Sufi Muslim Indian woman facing prejudice, were not satisfied to stand still or conform,” wrote Cory Cason and Renee Parson in their 2023 Fund for Teachers grant proposal. “Stories of historical figures serve as powerful role models and as high school U.S. and world history teachers we are in a unique position to use them as a classroom tool. Their compelling stories will inspire our students to look beyond their own circumstance as they ‘see’ the world and help cultivate the characteristics of empathy, resilience, adaptability, and courage we wish to see in our students.”

Thus began this teaching team’s quest to follow Virginia Hall, Josephine Baker and Noor Inayat Khan through Europe. Why these women in particular? Because in addition to their public personas as author, entertainer and princess, they also became exceptional WWII spies.

Dead, Old and Irrelevant?

Renee and Cory live in a remote corner of West Texas and teach at a school where sports and organizations such as Future Farmers of America characterize the cadence of the school life and the surrounding community. The history teachers (in addition to coaching track and field, history fair, and UIL academic contests) realized that students’ awareness of the wider world and appreciation of historical events were lacking.

“If we do not tell compelling narratives, our students will not be affected,” said Renee. “We believed that discovering
the stories of historical figures could be used as a strategy to create empathetic global citizens, but it’s difficult to use
historical figures as role models if we and our students cannot relate to them as real people.”

Renee and Cory designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship to:

1. Become experts on Virginia Hall, Noor Inayat Khan and Josephine Baker,
2. Create substantive authentic teaching materials, and
3. Navigate international travel in search of history

to use historical figures as role models by cultivating a real connection to these women and inspire an interest in the world beyond Alpine High School’s campus. The end result would be a new unit called “Spies Like Us.”

Sleuthing Out Surprising Facts

The International Spy Museum in Washington DC kicked off the transatlantic fellowship, where all three women are featured in the “Sisterhood of Spies – Celebrating Women in Espionage” exhibit. Their narratives are told and artifacts are on display, including Baker’s sheet music with invisible ink, a clandestine Mark II radio and transmitter, the type used by Khan and Hall’s Order of the British Empire award.

Next, a flight to London, where the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) recruited Hall and Kahn. A day trip to the Beaulieu Finishing School revealed the site where British SOE spies (including Hall and Kahn) mastered radio communication, weapons and sabotage.

Chunneling to Paris provided the opportunity to visit The Pantheon Mausoleum, where Baker is one of the few women and the first woman of color to be memorialized, as well as visit the Parisian streets and arrondissements where the three women lived and worked — including Avenue Foch where Khan was arrested and interrogated at Gestapo Headquarters. Additional stops included:

• The Musée de la Libération de Paris-Musée du Général Leclerc-Musée Jean Moulin museum partially housed in former secret French Resistance tunnels,
• The Chateau des Milandes where Baker lived after WWII and is now a dedicated museum space with exhibits from all aspects of her life,
• The medieval village of Villefranche-de-Conflent where Virginia Hall began her escape during the
  winter of 1942 with a wooden prosthetic leg over the Pyrenees into Spain, and
• Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site where Noor Inayat Khan was imprisoned and executed.

From every stop, Cory and Renee sent missives to students via social media to report on their findings.

Cluing In in the Classroom

Renee and Cory are translating their experiences into a spy school for students set in the high plateau of the Chihuahuan Desert between the Glass and Davis Mountain Ranges. Students are creating podcasts about women involved in World War II espionage and hosting a dinner party or tea at which students “interview” these same individuals for a cumulative report.

Along the way, the teachers’ content knowledge and mindset expanded as much as the students’:

• The independent bookstore and public libraries asked them to speak about their fellowship; and
• The duo is producing a podcast about the entire experience and impact.

“Sometimes when you do something for a long time, you take it for granted,” said Cory. “Admittedly history was becoming a bit boring for me. But as we traveled, I fell in love with history all over again. Experiencing history outside of the classroom and in the present was an adventure. I found that even though this was my first big trip overseas in 25 years, I was able to take advantage of every moment offered.”

In the aftermath of the pandemic, Christine Mitchell’s faith in the goodness of others flagged. She saw the same disillusionment in her students. Their school community is an isolated one, with little diversity in race, culture or worldview. Covid exacerbated this insular attitude and emphasized the social and emotional challenges teens already face.

“I felt beaten down by our society and hoped that an experience like this fellowship would bring the sparkle back to teaching others; it was still there, just harder to keep bright.”

In honor of Lunar New Year (beginning Saturday, February 10), we share this visual documentation of Christine’s trek to Bhutan, the Southeast Asian country with a negative carbon footprint and a Gross National Happiness index, to help students mirror and develop a greater sense of communal compassion through deeper thinking, reflection and planful action.

Thanks to FFT Fellow Tim Barry for his reflection on his two Fund for Teachers fellowships inspired by students’ curiosity and focused on elevating the experiences of Native Americans during World War II.

I am in my sixteenth year as a Special Education Teacher and have spent fifteen of those years teaching middle
school. Based on students’ needs, much of my time is spent teaching and supporting students in English and social studies classes. Our 7th-grade students read Code Talkers, by Joseph Bruchac and Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Houston as part of our English curriculum that explores the importance and impact of identity. In 8th grade, we read All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque. The beauty of this subject matter is that it fosters intellectual curiosity in our students. They want to know more, they want to ask questions, and oftentimes, these questions create dialogue and a spirit of inquiry that extends into authentic, teachable moments.

As a student of history, I am very familiar with the Pacific and European Theaters of World War II. Admittedly, the story of the Navajo was one that I was aware of, but not well-versed in. When reading Code Talkers, the idea that is most foreign and confusing to our students revolves around “why?”

Why would the Navajo be so loyal to a country that attempted to erase their culture? Why would these people be willing to save the country, with nothing in return?

As Code Talkers is our students’ first introduction to the World War I & II subject matter, it is the ideal opportunity to take an anchor text and extend the discussion beyond the pages of a book. This is not just a story of what the Navajo did, but an introduction to WHO the Navajo are. This fellowship provided me with an opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of how their culture and identity impacted their role in World War II and bring back an authentic experience to the students.

Having previously completed a Fund for Teachers fellowship to Manzanar in 2018 to examine life in and around Japanese Relocation Camps in Utah and Colorado, I was awarded a second grant last summer to engage with the Navajo Nation in Arizona and New Mexico. I examined the importance of cultural identity and explored how that identity empowered them to overcome marginalization by the U.S. Government and embrace the role as Code Talkers in World War II.

Read more about Tim’s 2023 fellowship here.

The highlight of my fellowship was hearing Peter MacDonald speak at the National Code Talkers Day event. Mr. MacDonald, at 94, is the youngest of the three living Code Talkers. He told the story of his enlistment at the age of 15 and the pride he felt in being Navajo and wearing the Marine Corps uniform. During his speech, he implored the Navajo youth to continue learning, protecting, and using the Navajo language despite its challenges because language is the key to sovereignty.

As I spoke to members of the Navajo Nation, I began to question my qualifications to teach about the Code Talkers’ story. This was not due to any unfavorable reception of my fellowship; quite the opposite, everyone I interacted with was welcoming and willing to share their knowledge. My concern revolved around doing justice to their culture, community, and the Code Talkers. Ultimately, it will drive me to deepen my learning and seek experts to share their stories.

The experiences I returned with have allowed me to provide authentic insight and perspectives to increase and enhance my students’ comprehension within our Code Talker unit. I gathered a variety of vetted, leveled texts to enrich academic discussions among students of varying ability levels. Most importantly, I have created relationships with people who can offer a cultural background vastly different from my students and foster a climate of understanding.

My Fund for Teachers fellowship reinforced the importance of self-discovery and lessons presenting themselves. My experience initially concentrated on enhancing my understanding of Code Talkers, which evolved into a story of the preservation of language, culture, and identity that is still challenging today.

When experiencing new cultures, we cannot rely solely on academics studying from a distance. It is critical to interact with communities directly to ensure that shared knowledge is culturally relevant.

Additionally, the fellowship enhanced my desire to explore and foster a sense of intellectual curiosity with my colleagues. The opportunity it provides for teachers to enrich their learning and share the inspiration of self-study rekindles much of the excitement that brought many of us into teaching.

Navajo Code Talker statue with Window Rock in the background

Halloween can be a scary time for teachers, due students’ sugar highs, costumes gone wrong, and the  “ghosting” of students” the day after. For Jinafer Brown’s French students, the learning takes on a fatal feel, as well.

Jinafer used a Fund for Teachers grant to explore the mysterious megalithic stone structures in Western Europe, gather evidence from French forensic scientists and archeologists on the origins of the civilizations that built these structures and create an inquiry-based unit to improve students’ science literacy skills.

This fellowship focused on death is rooted in data: 79% of students at Jenks High School scored below proficient at in science. Additionally, an Academic State Standards for World Languages that Jinafer struggles to meet is “expanding students’ knowledge of other disciplines while using the language to develop critical thinking.” Researching Neolithic stones in Western Europe and the French forensic evidence of their origins offered the perfect mix of science and language (and also speaks to the free reign our grant recipients have when crafting their unique fellowships).

Read our 2022 Halloween post about FFT Fellows’ research of Jack the Ripper here

At Carrowkeel Mounds near Sligo, Ireland, I was able to explore freely without any restrictions other than my own fear. Believe it or not, I did muster the courage to skinny into the tomb behind me. It was for science!

Enter If You Dare — And She Did

Last summer on her Fund for Teachers fellowship, Jinafer documented:

• the Megalithic Passage Tombs of Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland (older than Stonehenge in England and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt)
• the Gavrinis Tumulus in France, built in 3500 BCE;
• Roche-aux-fees, a 5,000-year-old passage tomb in Western France (pictured at the top of this post);
• the Carrowkeel Mounds near Sligo, Ireland; and,
• the Clava Cairns, a 4,000 burial site near Inverness, Scotland.

Her research included filming the sites for VR headsets, touring museums — such as the Archeology Museum of Dublin, where remains of “bog people” from AD 20 are on display — and interviewing docents. Jenifer participated in a workshop about the first villages of France at Paris’ Musée d’Archéologie Nationale in conjunction with annual European Archaeology Days and joined summer solstice celebrations at stone circles in Scotland.

Her Haunting Question

Throughout her learning, one question haunted her: “Should I be here?”

“I found that I had an internal debate as to whether or not funeral sites should be excavated. Should the remains of these kings and respected leaders be disturbed and viewed by thousands of visitors each day or should they remain closed out of respect for their cultures and their beliefs?” said Jinafer. “My professional mindset is that one’s intention makes all the difference. If one is studying these remains in order to make connections and remember the culture of that civilization, this is honorable.”

Demystifying the Megaliths

Jinafer created this fantastic website for students to discover the “Mysteries of the Megaliths.” Here they will view videos and interviews in the French language.

“I gathered PDFs and hard-copy books that explain the Neolithic civilizations in French. I collected articles and 360-degree photos that allow students to examine artifacts extracted from tombs in Ireland, Scotland, and France. Using Virtual Reality headsets [which Jinafer secured with a second grant], these materials will come to life.”

Using a THIRD grant, Jinafer purchased friction kits and students will follow the science lab friction experiment procedures in French.

“In small groups, students will propose prototypes of sleds and other means to Move a Megalith, she said. “Community partners (retired engineers and business owners) will work with students to build their prototypes. Last, in a school-wide event, students will carry out their experiments to see if they can move a megalith using only materials available in the Neolithic era.”

Take advantage of the website, that includes Jinafer’s FFT grant proposal, here.

For hundreds of teachers, today changes everything. Because today, Fund for Teachers’ 2024 grant application opens. Empowered by experiential learning fueled by $5,000 (for individuals) or $10,000 (for teams of two or more), our grant recipients are inspired to rethink their practice and reignite their passion for teaching, which consequently impacts their classrooms, school communities and careers for years to come.

PreK-12 teachers from across the country are invited to propose a summer fellowship that is:

1. professionally centered on students, and
2. personally supports their development as experts and exemplars for students and colleagues alike.

Our application deadline is January 18, 2024, and members of the 2024 FFT Fellow cohort will be notified on April 4, 2024.

Start Your Application Here

Are You Eligible?

YES, if you:

• Teach full-time in a public/private/charter or religious school with at least 50% of instruction in a classroom or classroom-like setting (including a library, gym or pull-out scenario);
• Will return to the classroom the following year; and,
• Have completed three years of teaching by the conclusion of the 2023-24 school year.

What’s Your Re?

This year, we’re asking potential applicants to consider “What’s your Re-?” In other words, what could a Fund for Teachers grant help you accomplish? 

• Reengage students in learning that centers them? 
• Recharge from burnout? 
• Reconsider narratives you’ve taught? 
• Revisit topics that once held your curiosity and could inspire your students? 

During the next few months, Fund for Teachers will offer webinars and workshops designed to facilitate fellowship proposals that have the best chance of being awarded. (Watch our website for updates and registration links).

We also encourage applicants to take advantage of our Online Learning Center, which has links to the scoring criteria, grant writing tips, and a timeline for managing the process.

“Fund for Teachers is the country’s largest investor in teachers’ professional learning, with approximately 10,000 educators awarded $32,000,000 in grants for self-designed fellowships since 2001,” said Karen Eckhoff, executive director. “Now it’s time to add to our cohort of teacher leaders committed to their profession and their students’ learning.”

Ariadne Prior-Grosch and Tom Bradway both teach at the Academy for Software Engineering in Manhattan, NY. This summer, they used a $10,000 Fund for Teachers grant to explore Enduring Issues and Crosscutting concepts in 10th-grade global history and earth science curricula across the African continent to highlight content connections, interdisciplinary learning opportunities and culturally responsive case studies and develop project-based learning units that integrate themes in global history and earth science. Three weeks after they returned home, Morocco experienced a 6.8 magnitude earthquake. We appreciate this reflection and their desire to give back to the people who welcomed them so warmly.

We ended our fellowship journey in Morocco less than three weeks ago, staying in Marrakech and visiting the High Atlas Mountains. Every person we met was incredibly excited to tell us about the deep history of Marrakech and its peoples and excited to know that we would incorporate what we learned into our classrooms.

In the mountains, we visited the town of Imlil, a gateway for hikers and the ancestral home of the Amadigz (Berber) people. We were welcomed into our guide’s home for a delicious meal and shown around their hillside farmlands and innovative water management systems. Now, the photos and videos coming out of the rural communities in the High Atlas Mountains and the city of Marrakech are devastating following the 6.8 magnitude earthquake on September 8th with the loss of life now over 2800 people…2800+ people who all had families, friends and loved ones. 

Earthquakes are not unknown in Morocco, but the last seismic event of this magnitude was in 1960 in the region of Agadir, about 150 miles from Marrakech. Morocco sits on the African (or Nubian) Plate which has an active convergent tectonic plate boundary to the north with the Eurasian plate.

However, the epicenter of this earthquake was in the southern part of the country in the High Atlas Mountains. The timing of the earthquake at night (11:11PM) made it all the more deadly given that many people were asleep in their homes, houses which are often made of mud bricks or unreinforced masonry that came tumbling down, unable to withstand that level of tremors. These rural mountain communities don’t have the infrastructure, resources, or access to medical facilities to respond to a tragedy of this magnitude so the response from international aid organizations is critical. 

In the historic Medina of Marrakech, the streets are narrow and winding, an incredible network of bustling markets, stores, homes, and mosques; many of the buildings are 1000 years old! The earthquake brought some of these historic structures crashing down, left gaping cracks in others and rained debris as people tried to flee to open areas. People are now sleeping outside in the open in the city squares and in the middle of rotaries as they fear for the structural integrity of their homes, or their homes are no longer standing.

Our hearts break for everyone who has lost a loved one in this tragedy and hope that the international aid organizations and foreign governments step up to provide rescue teams and emergency assistance to help the people of Morocco recover from this natural disaster.

This Mother Jones article provides multiple ways to support relief efforts in Morocco through organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF and Global Giving. Read more about Ariadne and Tom’s fellowship here and follow their learning on Instagram at @mspglovesrocks and @bradwaysenduringissues.

The  day after Labor Day is synonymous with the official return to the classroom and the age-old prompt: “What did you do this summer?” FFT Fellow Kelsi Horner is hoping students at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, KS, ask HER that question. With two colleagues, Kelsi engaged in an immersive experience of the language, history, and culture of Costa Rica to improve Spanish language skills and explore the impact of colonization on Latin American cultures to strengthen relationships with English Language Learners and build culturally responsive, relevant lessons for all students. Kelsi writes:

“Returning to work brings the “what did you do this summer” questions. This summer I had the pleasure of FINALLY getting to execute our 2020 Fund for Teachers fellowship!

Way back in 2020, myself Kristen Reyes, Nancy Blackburn and I applied for a Fund for Teachers grant. We all taught some form of World Regional Studies and wanted to improve our knowledge so that we could improve our instruction to help our students. Well two months after we applied, COVID happened. And our fellowship was put on hold, all the way until this June! Our timing was not the only thing that changed. Due to some political unrest, we decided our location needed to change and Fund for Teachers trusted us.

In June, we finally left for our fellowship! Our first stop was Monteverde. We stayed with three different Costa Rican families and attended Spanish immersion classes in the morning. Both my family and my teacher were very patient (and for that I am very grateful!)!

In the afternoons we tried to learn whatever Monteverde could teach us about environmental geography- from the El Trapiche Tour in Santuario Ecologico, a night walk through Bosque Eterno de los Ninos (lots of creepy crawlies!), and even learned some history (while atop some horses).

We had one more stop before departing- Sarchi! We stopped in Sarchi as it was the birth place of the oxcart (also where they paint them nice and pretty)! A pretty significant item in terms of the movement of goods and a nice way to conclude our adventures.

I cannot say enough good about Fund for Teachers – they are an organization that TRUSTS teachers and wants to keep teachers in the classroom. I hope to let everyone I know, know that this organization exists and that they should take part in it and dream up their own fellowship! Thank you, Fund for Teachers, for making this come true for us! We can’t wait to take this information back to our schools in the next few weeks. Teacher friends- ASK ME! I will help give you all the info you could possibly need! It’s worth it. 

Kelsi Horner is an instructional coach at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas. While currently teaching Student Success Skills, she has taught everything in the social studies world from World Regional Studies to Economics to AP US History. In addition to her work in the classroom, she also assists in the creation of district-wide social studies and world language curriculums. In her free time, Kelsi enjoys entertaining her corgi, Stella.

In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, we want to share our own appreciation for this thank you note from 2023 FFT Fellow David Cruickshank.

With his grant, David plans to research the Japanese culture that has no widespread access to firearms and has built a $2.6 billion flood protection system described as a modern marvel. Then, he’ll build and teach a criminal justice and disaster management trade curriculum for the State of Connecticut Technical High School System’s Criminal Justice and Protective Services program.

Upon returning from his fellowship, David proposed a unique implementation plan.

“I have a very exciting idea that I hope to develop and implement in our pilot program’s Emergency Operations Center, the emergency management curriculum, and push out to other programs — running a simulated disaster in the US with the emergency management procedures of Japan rather than those of FEMA.

I would like to develop a lesson that follows what my students have learned about US disaster management with the way Japan handles disaster management and then compare the two styles with a fictitious disaster and compare and contrast them. I envision the lesson lasting close to two weeks with first learning about the disaster management system and response structure in place in Japan, then simulating a response, and then using it as a springboard to compare and contrast the two systems before the ultimate assignment of challenging the students to design their own “perfect” disaster response framework. I think that encouraging students to not only learn about other cultures but then use that learning to see there are other ways of doing what they thought there was no other way to do, and then create something even different from that, will be mind-bending for them.”

The service-learning aspect of this fellowship, as well as its potential to create a state- and nation-wide emergency response system powered by students, is mind-bending for us, as well! We look forward to seeing the impact made by this FFT Fellow and his students.