The national spotlight will focus on Tulsa this Saturday when President Trump hosts his first campaign rally since the outbreak of COVID-19. Originally scheduled for Juneteenth, the day celebrated by African Americans commemorating the end of slavery, organizers shifted the event to Saturday, when Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt hopes the President and Vice President Pence will tour with him Tulsa’s Greenwood District, the site of one of America’s worst race massacres.

Watch this 60 Minutes piece on the Massacre.

Ninety-one years later, Kyle Peaden designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship in which he explored the culture and history of South Africa to develop a curriculum that compares/contrasts Apartheid with Tulsa’s Race Massacre to cultivate a zero-tolerance view of racism at Tulsa’s Patrick Henry Elementary, six miles away from Greenwood District. We are grateful and proud to share his insights…

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In 2012, I wrote in my grant proposal:

I see history repeating itself. I see that my students do not know or comprehend of the hate and bigotry that violated our city in the early 20th century in what is regarded as one of the most destructive race riots in the 20th century. While my students may not be involved in the repulsive actions of racist groups of individuals in the past, I can see hints of the same distance from understanding. Students are letting bullying and anger fill the voids where communication, discussion, and understanding should be. I hope to bring about understanding of racism, hate, and intolerance by contrasting the history of South Africa to the history of our city. By visiting South Africa to show the history and recent developments in Apartheid and segregation I can bring students to look closer at their own local history. This quiet city holds scars and wounds from one of the largest race riots in America and it remains a difficult subject to face. These wounds are ignored, and the impact of the race riots still linger. By bringing students to my experiences in South Africa I believe they will be able to use an unbiased process of examination to the history of South Africa and eventually to our history.

Sometimes it is too difficult for a child to think that something so awful could have happened in their home town. A sense of favoritism holds strong in their heart that would leave them less willing to hear or realize what happened here not too long ago in their own backyard. It is my hope to go to South Africa to learn firsthand why one person can do terrible things to another and how the goodness in humanity can prevail. I hope to bring a community of students closer to understanding what did happen, what can happen, and what we can do to make sure none of that will happen here ever again. By looking at examples of strength, ignorance, and hope abroad in South Africa and right here in our own back yard these students will work through questions dealing with morality and morality that can help their own understanding of such subjects.

My exploration started at home in Tulsa. I wondered how a city could recognize and reconcile the immense tragedy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. This question took me on a journey over 8,700 miles away to South Africa. South Africa is a country that exemplifies the evils of racism and the hope that can bring a society from those dark times. I wanted to study the culture of South Africa, its art, food, and people, so that I could gather a greater understanding of what happened and how the country has adjusted from Apartheid.

My journey began near Johannesburg where I spent a week in Soweto, the largest and arguably most influential townships during the resistance against Apartheid. During my stay I met the most welcoming people during my whole stay in Africa. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to teach a lesson at a local art school as soon as I found one and my work with Emilia Potenza, the curator at the National Apartheid Museum, gave me a greater background understanding to the reasons and history behind Apartheid. Not far from this epicenter of struggle I visited the Cradle of Humankind where the fossilized remains of our direct ancestors are found. From Johannesburg I traveled through Kruger National Park driving amongst natures most raw surroundings to the Drakensberg Mountains. The Drakensberg site is home to thousands of Bushmen paintings throughout the mountain ranges. After hiking and documenting these ancient works of art I continued south toward the Cape of Good Hope.

In Cape Town I visited the many cultural and historical sites that represent so much of this diverse country. The blend and recognition of cultures reminded me so much of the country I grew up. I started to understand and recognize the steps towards reconciliation in South Africa and a small step to what might be needed at home. The art and history of this wonderful country helped me to see what steps my students and I can take to repair and resolve our troubled past. While my journey is a personal one, I know that the impact of my steps and my efforts will help students to further their own passage through the difficult topics of race, racism, hate, and hope. In my exploration our dark history nearly broke my heart, the people of South Africa filled it with joy, and my students carry it forward with hope.

I stayed in Tulsa teaching for another two years and my wife and I moved to Wisconsin. I ended up working with the Title I program at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction because I felt like much of what I learned is the systems and structures established during Apartheid had some of the deepest impacts on South Africa and the black community of Tulsa. I wanted to work on addressing those policies and by working at the state level I could work towards a more equitable education system.

My Fund for Teachers experience has helped to inform the decision making and policies in programs I work with. By acknowledging the impacts of multiple landscapes and their relationships with race I am more prepared for the injustices that our youth face. Wisconsin has some of the largest gaps for students of color and our state agency has made the work of closing those gaps one of our highest priorities. Personally, I work not only with Title I-A but in programs that support incarcerated students, students that are placed in foster care/out-of-home care, and I am a part of some of the equity work occurring in our agency. I’ve worked on teams that developed and train all staff in our agency on equity to build a foundational experience for our work. I think it is from the experiences in South Africa, learning from the Apartheid museum, the cradle of humanity, Soweto, and the people (most importantly the people!) that could tell their story that helped me build an understanding of how I can listen and work towards a more equitable education system for all our students.

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Kyle recommends the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation as a starting point for those wanting to know more about the Tulsa Race Massacre. He also encourages us all to reframe language you might here this week referring to the event as the Tulsa Race Riots. “I’ve learned since my fellowship that the word riot incorrectly places blame on Tulsa’s Black community, which acted in response to an unlawful arrest and subsequent rounding up of 6-8,000 Black Tulsans – many for up to eight days,” he said.

Fund for Teachers is working to compile a trove of resources on Education Equity from diverse sources for the collective learning of our Fellows and everyone in our community. Check back often for updates. Have a resource you’d like to share? Email liza@fundforteachers.org.

• Teaching Anti-Racist, Anti-Bias Themes in a Racial Pandemic: Fund for Teachers Fellow and Teaching Tolerance advisory board member Jamilah Pitts suggests that when teachers choose to remain silent about moments of racial tension or violence—violence that may well touch students’ own communities or families—these children are overtly reminded of their inferior place in society. Engaging in dialogue about mass incarceration rates; the militarism of police and the killing of innocent black men and women is but one antidote to systemic racism.  Apple podcast | Spotify
• Scaffolded anti-racism resources: We love how this document is organized by the stages of identity development in relation to race. It is an amazing collection of resources to facilitate white persons’ growth.
• Teaching for Black Lives:  A collection of materials and resources highlighting the ways educators can make their classrooms and schools places of resistance to white supremacy and anti-Blackness, as well as sites for knowing the hope and beauty in Blackness.

In one week, many will commemorate Juneteenth, the day the Emancipation Proclamation – issued on January 1, 1863 – was read to enslaved African Americans in Texas. Today’s Fellow Friday highlights Chris Dolgos (Genesee Community Charter School – Rochester, NY): the inspiration for his 2020 fellowship researching Frederick Douglass’s UK speaking tour, and resources you can use in your own classroom.

Chris is a veteran teacher within EL Education, an innovative network of schools across the nation dedicated to equal emphasis on students’ mastery of knowledge and skills, high-quality work and character. The school’s unique approach to curriculum divides the school year into distinct, cross-curricular “expeditions” culminating in a final products. The inspiration for Chris’ 2020 fellowship focusing on Frederick Douglass was catalyzed by such a product that, interestingly, had its roots in Chris’ 2015 fellowship research on how Romans constructed public works projects (such as Hadrian’s Wall) to divide, as well as unite, people in a multicultural society.

Chris’ sixth graders’ AdobeSpark presentation Whose Renaissance Is It? led to a grant from Teaching Tolerance for a collaboration with community-based artists, to four murals the painted across Rochester. And just last week, the students presented this final presentation to the Genessee Comunity Charter School board of directors via Zoom. The board immediately motioned to revise the school’s code of conduct based o the recommendations of students’ work.

“After a year like this – it was satisfying and timely to see the students’ work received so warmly,” Chris said.

One of four murals painted by Chris’ students around Rochester, NY.

Read about the Teaching Tolerance grant and watch this video about the mural project. #ROCBeliever

We asked Chris how he arrived at this particular fellowship (his previous ones focused on Hadrian’s Wall, bird migration and Neanderthals – what can we say, there’s a reason why he’s one of 5 four-time FFT Fellows). Chris’ response mirrored his path toward becoming the the anti-racist and abolitionist teacher he wants to be.

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“Working with amazing  Shawn Dunwoody, our kids helped paint four murals across the four quadrants of Rochester. It was the first time we’d engaged the class to see neighborhoods beyond their own and see our city as a whole – flaws and all and it was a powerful moment for all of us,” Chris said. “It also laid bare just how much work there is to do in understanding the inequity in our city. Seeing it through my students’ eyes forced me to see the systemic barriers and my own role in upholding them.”

Chris dug into Layla Saad‘s “Me and White Supremacy” workbook, which launched months of facing up to “biases, classism and even racism that had no doubt seeped into my interactions with kids.”

[minti_blockquote]”I picked up the work and with other white people, dug in. I wrestled with my prejudice and sat with the guilt of not doing enough – or even worse – just enough. I cycle back through that workbook every few months. A few weeks later came the news that a Frederick Douglass statue – one of many celebrating the bicentennial of his birth – had been vandalized. I don’t really know why that hit me as hard as it did, but I was furious.”[/minti_blockquote]

“We talked about it as a teaching team and with the class (now a new group of students) and posed the question – what do we do?” said Chris. “Naturally, the kids had the answer : ‘We show up.’ So we did – we alerted parents that we’d be taking a walk to the site where the vandals struck on the day a new statue took its place to show that hate and ignorance has no place in our community. Highlight of the day? Seeing Margaret Finch, my mentor from my first year of teaching (20 years ago!) thanking me for making time in the day to have our students be a part of this. That day was really the day I knew I needed to commit to becoming and anti-racist teacher and anti-racist human being. I had started with baby steps, head down making sure I didn’t trip over my words and actions and now was ready to look up and fail forward, as often happens when taking risks.”

“That year our students were examining food justice and the need for a food policy council in our city. A lot of our work was around the intersection of race and class. The data told the story of systems of oppression and discrimination towards people of color. Diminished health outcomes, food deserts and nutritionally empty foods in black and brown communities, poverty and time constraints that limit food choices – the kids learned about all of it. It was a privilege check time and I realized I still had more to do and more to learn.”

“For the 2019-20 school year, Alexis and I were approached by our school leader and members of our board to examine our school’s code of conduct and have the kids help us reframe the rules through the lens of restorative justice. That was eye-opening work and we’re just about ready  to share those recommendations with our board.  That and lots of reading and reflection of the past few years’ projects helped bring into focus my 2020 FFT Fellowship – to explore what it means to be an anti-racist educator and abolitionist teacher.”

Chris’ reading list included: Dr. Ibram Kendi (How to Be an Anti-Racist) and Bettina Love (We Want to Do More than Survive: Abolitionist  Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom). His other inspiration was local hero Frederick Douglass.

Read about Frederick Douglass’ deep connection with Rochester here.

“Douglass’ travels to Great Britain, where he spoke to white people to reject and dismantle slavery and join the abolitionist cause, were unfamilar to me. It was on these trips that enough money was collected and donated that would allow him to purchase his freedom and buy the printing presses that gave birth to his abolitionist newspaper, The North Star.  I made contact with professor Hannah Murray in the UK who had done the research on Douglass in Great Britain that shaped the itinerary I proposed,” Chris said.

“And then came COVID. Schools closed. Travel was suspended. Fear and anger raged as the death toll climbed. FFT made the wise decision to postpone all fellowships until summer 2021. And then Breonna Taylor was murdered. Then came Ahmad Aubrey. Then came George Floyd. Then came the righteous anger of hundreds of thousands of Americans, followed by many more thousands around the world. A lot of folks were in the shallow end of anti-racist work when this tidal wave hit. Being only a few years into this work myself with any real sense of commitment, I struggled with how to best serve my students – but our team opted to simply listen and let them share and process through a listening circle. It was a start and a conversation that is hard to maximize through the tiny boxes of a Zoom meeting. And with the year drawing to a close, we want the kids to know they should keep speaking and keep listening and be active in questioning the status quo. Several went to the protests. Others joined in the clean up of the looting and vandalism that followed. I keep thinking, “Man, I could REALLY use that fellowship this summer!” but a lot of the work that needs to be done in my classroom needs to be done internally, by me.

• Listening more.
• Revisiting my reflections on Layla Saad’s workbook.
• Working with other white educators to check our bias and challenge the assumptions we have of our students.
• Decolonize our curriculum and make sure the policies and systems within our schools are culturally affirming so when we say Black Lives Matter, the students believe it.Taking a virtual abolitionist walking tour in London with Dr. Murray later this month. And,
• Participating in a Gilder Lehrman Institute online course about the History of American Protest.

“While it’s no substitute for my fellowship, current events and these activities are already conspiring to shape the direction we’ll be taking with next year’s sixth graders. And in June of 2021, as I begin to follow in Frederick Douglass’ steps in the UK, I will already be one step closer to becoming the anti-racist and abolitionsit teacher I want to be.”

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Chris joined Lee Klingenstein, EL Education’s founding board chair (lfar left) for the on-stage at the EL Education 2016 National Conference in Detroit.

Chris is a sixth-grade teacher at Genesee Community Charter School in Rochester, NY and is a three-time Fund For Teachers Fellow. History and geography are two passions he brings to life in his classroom, through field work, guest experts and product-driven Learning Expeditions. Chris has contributed to EL Education publications and Common Core curricular efforts, was awarded EL Education’s Top Teacher Honor for the nation, and is a NY Educator Voice Fellow. Follow him on Twitter at CJDTeaches.

On Monday, we shared the work of an FFT Fellow to educate his Tulsa students about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre for the first time. Today, as Pride Month begins, we elevate another lesser-known, yet seminal event in our nation’s quest for social justice — this time for the LGBTQ+ community.

On June 27-28, 1969, New York City police raided Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village bar known for its gay, lesbian and transgender patrons. The BBC story “Stonewall: A riot that changed millions of lives” proposed that Stonewall was to the gay rights movement what Rosa Parks was for the civil rights one. “And just as Ms Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Alabama to a white man had the effect of animating the civil rights movement 14 years before,” wrote author author Tom Geoghegan, “so Stonewall electrified the push for gay equality.”

For more information, watch this “Stonewall Uprising” episode of PBS’ American Experience.

Use these Learning for Justice resources on this topic in your classroom.

Five miles south of Stonewall Inn sits Eleanor Roosevelt High School, with the mission of “challenging students to act with courage, integrity and leadership [while] preparing them to embrace the moral, social, and intellectual challenges to come.” Leading this work is Tony Cacioppo, humanities teacher and faculty advisor for the Gender & Sexuality Alliance.

In 2015, Tony was named the Live Out Loud Educator of the Year for ensuring his LGBTQ+ students receive the highest quality education and feel supported emotionally and socially throughout the process. To support this work, he designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship to explore how London schools give voice to the LGBTQ community in their curriculum and to strengthen representation and support of LGBTQ students and their allies.

“Statistics show that when compared to heterosexual students, queer students all across the country miss more days of school, experience higher levels of depression and other mental health issues, and are much more likely to drop out of school,” wrote Tony in his grant proposal. “I want my school to do more to fight this trend.”

Tony’s guiding questions throughout his month-long tour of the United Kingdom included:

Peter Tatchell, founder of The Peter Tatchell Foundation

1. How do we ensure that all students—queer or not—truly understand the history and current lives of LGBTQ people?
2. How do we eliminate bias, even when it’s unintentional, from the school community?
3. How do we include LGBTQ achievements, concerns, and topics in the curriculum of all courses in a way that feels authentic and purposeful? And,
4. How do we ensure that queer students are not singled out and or marginalized in any aspect of school life, including in classes, sports teams, extracurricular activities, school dances and field trips?

His exemplars were individuals and organizations at the forefront of the effort to expand the inclusion of LGBTQ voices and issues in schools through the 2017 Children and Social Work Act in England, which requires all schools to teach sex and relationship education (SRE) from the age of 11 on, with plans in place to begin this fall. Tony’s itinerary included:

Gay Pride Flag, National Museum of Dublin

• An interview with a former SRE educator/current staff member at Stonewall (a London advocacy helping to make schools more LGBTQ inclusive) that led to introductions at Stonewall’s School Champions network, where staff have been trained on best practices for LGBTQ inclusion.
• Meeting with Peter Tatchell, a longtime human rights activist and founder of The Peter Tatchell Foundation that turned into a strategy session on implementing his recommendations for inclusion of marginalized students at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.
• Workshops through Bish Training, a group that specializes in providing SRE training for schools, and Brook, an organization dedicated to ensuring the sexual health and well being of young people, which yielded best practices to better support the development of healthy sexual identity in adolescents and teenagers. And,
• Discussions with Dr. Polly Haste, the Head of training and Practice for the Sex Education Forum, focusing on ensuring that LGBTQ content is embedded into curriculum rather than discussed for one day so that the school can say it has “covered” the topic.

“One unexpected result was being told by several of the professionals that I spoke to that when it comes to addressing the mental and physical health needs of young people, doing certain things badly is worse than not doing them at all,” said Tony. “We must be extremely careful and thoughtful when talking to students about healthy relationships, sexuality and gender, drug use and eating disorders, etc. We don’t want to do more damage to an already fragile student who is in need of support.”

Tony’s long-range plans include incorporating more LGBTQ+ literature into his 11th and 12th grade English classes.
The culmination of the school year, pre-COVID, was to be a unit specifically on the Stonewall Riots, which he provides here.

Tony with members of the Gay Straight Alliance at Eleanor Roosevelt High School

“This fellowship helped me to see that there is amazing work going on all over the world if you take the time and have the opportunity to go exploring,” said Tony. “The people that I met and learned from were not just other classroom teachers; they were activists and advocates who care about the same things I do–namely the well-being of young people–and have chosen another path for helping to achieve a similar goal. This showed me the power of educators forming partnerships with anyone who is willing to help.”

“As teachers we get extremely focused on what is going on directly in front of us and with the things that we need to do by the end of the day, week, semester, or year,” he continued. “This project gave me to the opportunity to step out of my own small world and see the big picture. I now recognize that lesson plans and grades have their place, but that teaching can truly be powerful and transformative when it supports who students are and helps them become the people that they are meant to be.”

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Listen to Tony’s acceptance speech at the Live Out Loud Educator of the Year Award Ceremony.

We are so proud of our 2020 class of Fund for Teachers Fellows and believe Teacher Appreciation Week is the perfect time to begin a weekly series that introduces! Through individual profiles, as well as those focusing on themes these exemplary teachers will pursue in the summer of 2021, you will appreciate these Fellows commitment to their profession, students and school communities.

Today, meet Laurel Cardellichio, science teacher at Croton-Harmon High School in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Currently, she teaches AP Environmental Science and Regents Chemistry, but she’s also taught Biology, Animal Physiology, Forensic Science, and Psychology. Prior to being named a 2020 FFT Fellow, Laurel earned recognition as a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Fellow, Regeneron STEM Teacher Fellow, and her National Geographic Certification.

On her CardClassroom global education guide/blog, Laurel shares her mission statement:

[minti_blockquote]“Create scientifically and geographically literate students who, have passion for discovery of the natural world around them have the knowledge, the confidence and the skills to communicate ideas respectfully and, have the drive to become positive agents of change as globally competent citizens”[/minti_blockquote]

The Fund for Teachers fellowship Laurel designed, not surprisingly, is right in line with her mission. With her grant, Laurel will research traditional knowledge-based agricultural practices in Italy to create partnerships with local farms and learning that promotes traditional farming methods:

• mitigating climate change
• improving food security, and
• conserving biodiversity.

Laurel explained the reasoning behind this fellowship in her proposal:

“Just like my students, I learn best through experience and I propose to immerse myself in the history and culture of traditional agriculture ecosystems of Italy. There are two Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in Italy designated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). These GIAHS, dominated by olive groves and vineyards in the Umbria and Veneto regions of Italy, provide significant examples of historical and modern human agricultural practices in harmony with nature. The traditional knowledge based practices conducted in these regions date back to the Roman Empire and smallscale family farms are exemplars for sustainability, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation. My teaching practice will be strengthened as I learn how historic food ecosystems reflect culture and sustainable land management, and how modernization and climate change has impacted them.”

Laurel’s goal for her students is for them to learn how sustainable management of agricultural land must be approached as an ecosystem and how that supports the Slow Food Movement. While she will pursue experiences and information across Italy to support this goal, her students’ work will be tied to farms surrounding their school community north of New York City. Three small-scale farms in Westchester County (Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Hilltop Hanover, and Cabbage Hill) will serve as her “homebase” from which she and students will learn best practices and develop mentoring relationships for future research projects.

Her keen interest in land sustainability stems from her personal interest in gardening, professional love of teaching environmental science and unique professional learning experiences.

“As a Regeneron Fellow, I took a course centered on the impacts of climate change on the ability of Athabascan Indians of Alaska to preserve their heritage largely centered on seasonally-based traditional methods for obtaining food,” said Laurel. “When I learned that I was going to Morocco [through the Fulbright program], I immediately started researching environmental issues in the country and the preservation of oases came up. I had never thought beyond movie depictions of the oasis mirage. I am thankful to my host teacher, who brought me to an oasis upon my request. When my research lead me to the GIAHS – completely by surprise – I found out the the FAO also has an interest in preserving human culture in the form of traditional agriculture.”

According to Laurel, the postponement of 2020 grant recipients’ fellowships until next summer gives her that much more time to prepare for an even more meaningful learning experience. COVID permitting, she plans to go ahead with her stateside portion of her fellowship, filming interviews at local farms and aligning her research for use in the classroom this year. This initial contact will lay the groundwork for students’ participation in the farms’ hands on workshops, guided tours and internship opportunities for seniors.

“Although I wish I could have carried out my fellowship this summer, I believe the delay for the Italy part will be very beneficial for multiple reasons. This extra time will allow me to: further develop my video production skills this summer for lesson plans, conduct the local farm research/visits/filming this summer giving me valuable time to better prepare for the two weeks that I will be in Italy ; and learn a lot more Italian so that I may communicate respectfully and effectively to the people I meet on my adventure.”

We are so proud of our 2020 class of Fund for Teachers Fellows and believe Teacher Appreciation Week is the perfect time to begin a weekly series that introduces! Through individual profiles, as well as those focusing on themes these exemplary teachers will pursue in the summer of 2021, you will appreciate these Fellows commitment to their profession, students and school communities.

Today, in conjunction with Asian Pacific Heritage Month, we introduce Joey Cumagun, a special education teacher with the Adult Transition Community Based Instruction (CBI) team at Deer Valley High School in Antioch, CA. Joey currently he has also taught Special Day Class K-3, SDC 6-8 and autism intensive classrooms. A teacher for 32 years, his awards include Mary Allan Teacher Fellow 2019, National History Day Fellow 2016-17, Special Olympics Northern California Teacher of the Season 2015.

Joey enrolled in the Ateneo de Manila University with the intention of pursuing a degree in Engineering; however, after volunteering as a tutor his junior year, he switched his major to Education and started teaching social studies in a general education setting. After meeting his late wife who was a Special Education teacher, Joey added a second certification in this sphere, as well.

In designing his fellowship, Joey recognized a gap in the transition of his students from school to life post-graduation. He teaches 15 students (primary eligibility are (8 students with primary diagnosis of autism, 5 intellectual disability, 1 other health impairment (cerebral palsy), 1 with specific learning disability). Their learning goals cover:

• functional academics, which is how to apply reading and math skills in the real world such as following a calendar or reading a bus schedule
• appropriate communication and social skills to successfully navigate their community, and
• vital employment skills which is the primary rationale of this fellowship.

“As important a goal of getting a job is after high school is to my students, none of them actually gets employed after graduation,” explained Joey. “All my students end up in sheltered, non-work settings. In the state of California, only one out of every four workers with developmental disabilities are working in a community employment settings (according to CA Transition Alliance). On the national level, while unemployment rate is at an all time low, there is no evident increase in the rate of employment of people with disabilities. In my constant effort to find how I can best prepare students with special needs for employment, I researched top companies and best countries that employ people with disabilities. Then I discovered about Omron Taiyo in Japan with a long and reputable history of employing people with disabilities.”

[minti_pullquote align=”left”]Joey will use his Fund for Teachers grant to tour two Omron Taiyo manufacturing factories where the majority of employees have a disability to design a system for a workplace (simulated in the classroom) that is both conducive and motivating for students with disabilities.[/minti_pullquote]

“With this fellowship I will be able to see for myself a work flow system designed for workers with disabilities that I would never see in a textbook or curriculum,” said Joey. “In addition, I will learn more effective ways how to instill positive work values in the classroom, learn ways that Omron implements visual materials, automated signals, and workflow design to support workers with disabilities, and document methodologies and use of Japanese technology that I can bring to my classroom.”

Upon his return, Joey envisions a six-step plan for applying all he experiences in Japan:

1. Create workstations that incorporate workflow systems observed at Omron
2. Implement technology that supports work skills performance
3. Teach and practice positive work values, such as the attitude of punctuality
4. Introduce guided practice lessons that parallel work designs seen at the Omron factory
5. Present a training session during the school’s professional development day and provide handouts and support to
   teachers who are willing to implement whatever they have learned, and
6. Network with community organizations and businesses and policy makers by promoting my students
   employability

Joey has completed 62 marathons, en route to his goal of 100 races.

Joey’s ultimate goal is to see his students enter the workforce through this network, as opposed to attending adult day programs (bowling, library visits, etc.) in which most students remain for the rest of their lives.

“Essentially, the goal of school is to learn ‘skills to pay the bills,’ said Joey, “but in civic terms, the end outcome of education is to create productive citizens in the community both local and global. This fellowship will help develop a good success story for the community’s effort to engage students in real world learning. This fellowship will be particularly special because it caters to the needs of the special needs population, sending an inspirational message to the students and the school community that all students can succeed, no matter the challenges.”

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, an initiative that got its start at a school (college, to be exact). According to EarthDay.org, a Wisconsin senator was inspired by student activism surrounding the Vietnam War and he wanted to direct the same level of passion to protecting the environment. Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed a “teach-in” on college campuses and that idea mobilized so many people that he hired a staff, the teach-in morphed into a nation-wide event and 20 million people demonstrated against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development which had left a growing legacy of serious human health impacts.

Fifty years later, protecting the planet is a major focus of FFT Fellows’ self-designed experiential learning each summer. This year’s theme is climate action, and we’re extremely excited to see how these members of the 2020 class of grant recipients will bring new ideas and inspiration to their pk-12 students about this topic after their fellowships:

• Laurel Cardellichio will research traditional knowledge-based agricultural practices in Italy and create partnerships with local farms to create classroom and field lessons promoting traditional farming methods that mitigate climate change, improve food security, and conserve biodiversity.
• Kathryn Hendrix will explore and photograph unique geographic characteristics of Iceland and Greenland while simultaneously witnessing how these populations manage climate change and renewable resources to prepare students as critical thinkers who can problem solve the challenges their generation will face, both in terms of global warming and for minimizing natural disasters.
• James Janski will explore Alaska’s Denali, Kenai Fjords and Wrangell-St. Elias National Parks to learn firsthand about glaciers, climate change, and the tilt of the Earth, and enhance students’ understanding of these science concepts.
• Jaclyn Lawlor will conduct research on climate change in Montana to enhance math education through the creation of an interdisciplinary senior seminar course that conflates math, earth science and naturalist writings to examine current issues.
• Barbara Niziolek and Micheal Niziolek will study the impact man made climate change has on Hawaii and investigate how advocacy and new technology are working to counteract its effects to develop a unit that empowers students to create their own environmental focused advocacy projects.
• Christopher Purdy will explore Alaska’s Denali and Kenai National Parks, Chugach National Forest, and the glaciers of Prince Williams Sound to learn how global climate change impacts glacial melting and rising sea levels and how extreme environments influence natural selection as aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.
• Ryan Roberts will research Norway’s environmental policies and how statistics influence these policies to infuse the AP Statistics curriculum with climate change and give students an authentic example of data collection that connects to one of the biggest current events of our lives.
• Charles Solarz will study the effects of climate change in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica and its impact on biodiversity and ecosystems of the Isla de Cano Biological Reserve and Golfo Dulce and Corcovado National Parks to create a NGSS curriculum that encourages students to be curious about the world around them and develop the skills necessary to be analytical, evidence-based thinkers.
• Katherine Soltys will join an educator expedition throughout Southern Africa, gathering gather data and evidence for student analysis of the effects of climate change, to teach students methods for monitoring and minimizing human impacts on the environment and inspire them to become environmental activists.
• Mary Elizabeth Sugden will join an organized expedition through Tanzania to collaborate with local experts and other educators in designing learning that increases students’ understanding of the impact of global climate change on biodiversity and supports Next Generation Science Standards and the AP Environmental Science course framework.
• Jacqueline Theoharidis will learn from scientists and UNESCO experts about environmental issues affecting the coastal cities of Venice, Italy, and Zakynthos, Greece, to bring real world experiences about the global nature of climate change into the classroom via case studies, modeling of concepts, and inquiry lessons. And,
• Peggy Weinhoeft-Renfro will explore in Canada and Iceland the impact of climate on the electric grid and innovative efforts to avoid a possible infrastructure and energy crisis to provide students with engaging, real-world curriculum that will provide experiences that instill confidence to engage with STEM topics and future STEM careers.

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You can read about previous FFT Fellows’ eco-experiences at the following links:

Climate Change from A (activism) to Z (Zanzibar) – A Brooklyn teacher explores the methodology and best practices of community-based efforts in the Maldives and Solomon Islands to mobilize youth in island nations and Brooklyn confronting climate change.

Bomb Clone = Climate Change? – Two Boston teachers investigate the impact of climate change on Iceland’s society, educational system and natural environment to develop instructional resources that empower students to address climate change and its impacts on Boston.

Changing a School’s Climate Regarding Climate Change – Two NYC teachers toured Alaskan boreal forest, coastal, tundra, and glacial ecosystems and collect first-hand evidence of climate change for a sixth grade unit called Human Impacts. And,

A Grand Education – A husband and wife teaching team investigated in five national parks the impact of climate change, with a specific focus on drought and indigenous peoples, to guides students’ creation of a local service project based on water conservation.

Earth Day 2019 FFT Round Up

Today marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade History, an annual commemoration established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007. The aim of the day is “to inculcate in future generations the causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice.” FFT Fellows consistently design fellowships to further this work and we are honored to share the work of one of them today. Aisha Haynes (Academy of Urban Planning & Engineering – Brooklyn) used her grant to research colonization in Ghana on the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved African arrived in Virginia to share learning with the school Equity Team and advance campus inclusivity goals. We’re grateful for Aisha’s work and her story…

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“Akwaaba” is a traditional greeting in Ghana that welcomes visitors. This greeting resonates with me often as a teacher in the neighborhood in which I teach in Brooklyn, New York. Many of my students are recently arrived immigrants, students who are living in temporary housing, or simply new to our school community. This warm welcome invites my students into our classroom space to move from becoming visitors in our community to making themselves at home. I designed this fellowship to celebrate their diversity, encourage their inclusion, and build leadership amongst my adolescent students.

For ten days, I experienced the history and culture of Ghana while staying with a host family to broaden personal understanding of the African country, particularly the role it played in the slave trade, and more effectively teach this period of history. Visiting the Cape Coast was the most transformative of experiences. To stand in the same spaces where enslaved people were once tortured, punished, and forever taken away from the life that they once knew was jarring. Despite this painful past, so many of the Ghanians that I met were willing to acknowledge the dark past while acknowledgouting the hope and promise for the future. I was inspired by this attitude and I hope to share these experiences and attitudes with my student.

The “Year of Return” [2019 commemorated 400 years since the first enslaved Africans touched down in Jamestown, Virginia in the United States] was a carefully curated event by the nation’s government and tourism department. Watching them weave music, dance, art, and history together to tell a comprehensive story of Ghana’s past and present. This has supported a more interdisciplinary approach to my teaching and I am encouraged that my students are learning more because they are engaged. I also hope that my students will feel emboldened to share their identity with newfound ways to tell their stories.

I did not expect to be so personally impacted by the visit. To walk into spaces and hear “Welcome home, my sister,” gave me a sense of joy and belonging that I have never felt in any place that I’ve visited. As a Black woman in America, I scarcely have the experience to be in spaces where everyone looks like me and I was unprepared for how significant that would be to me. Additionally, the visit to the slave castle left me committed to retelling the story of marginalized people in their voices.

Students now have access to the resources I collected during my time in Ghana to begin drafting their own origin stories. After developing these stories, they will be invited to address issues around their own identities and present their findings to the school community. This will culminate in a full day of activities entitled “Day of Dialogue” in which students act as facilitators.

This work is expanding school wide events to deconstruct stereotypes and build our school community. Staff, faculty, and the community take part in this daylong activity, which has become a tradition for our school. Our students lead the activities throughout the day in classrooms and after the day is complete, they often feel emboldened to share their skills at conferences and other schools on the campus.

After Ghana, I have renewed energy and more directed focus toward creating a meaningful experience for students. I teach mostly black and brown students and sharing these travel stories and memories with them is a personal experience that brings us closer. My teaching is transformed because my worldview feels larger as I feel more convicted to make their teaching relevant, interdisciplinary and authentic.

Too often, students feel like their learning is in silos- their personal lives are separated from the classroom. Having had such a rich cultural experience, I am dedicated to giving my students the same experience. Travel also reminded me that teaching should be interdisciplinary, relevant, and mixes the past with their contemporary lives. When teachers are personally enriched, they pass along the experiences and try to replicate those experiences in a meaningful way.

(top to bottom: Aisha in front of the Ghanian flag. The red in the flag represents the blood of those who died for independence from Great Britain, gold-the mineral wealth of the country, green-the country’s rich forests and nature, and black star-African emancipation. | The Door of No Return at Elmina Castle, through which tens of thousands of Africans destined for slavery passed to board slave ships. | Visiting Kwame Nkrumah Square, which recognizes the country’s first Prime Minister and President of Ghana. | Black Star Square, site of the annual Independence Parade. Read excerpts from today’s speech by the UN Secretary-General about this year’s theme “Confronting Slavery’s Legacy of Racism Together” here.)

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Aisha is a high school teacher in Brooklyn, New York where she has taught English for the last eleven years. She is also a doctoral candidate in New York University Educational Leadership and Policy program. Her research interests include the changing educational landscape, education equity and school leadership.

…not a drop to drink. That’s what Richard Lebowitz discovered on his Fund for Teachers fellowship last summer in Indonesia. For two weeks, he collaborated with Balinese municipalities, scholars, citizens and tourists to research the country’s inability to overcome its water shortage crisis. Richard’s inspiration came from observing water waste at The SEEALL Academy in Brooklyn, NY, where his students are now implementing sustainability practices as a result of his research.

“An environmental sustainability practice that my school fails to address is our overconsumption of freshwater,” said Richard. “Our sinks and water fountains often break, and excess water pours out of these faucets while they are not in use. They are eventually fixed, but only after wasting potable water. The school’s sinks and toilets are outdated and overconsume freshwater because they lack modern water saving technology, like reduced water volume sinks and toilets.  I am committed to transforming our school culture, first by transforming the way my students view their roles as environmental stewards within our school and community.”

The most effective way to do that, he decided, was to show students what happens when a community fails to advocate for its environment.

Throughout his fellowship, Richard witnessed and documented the implications of a freshwater shortage crisis:

• More than 60% of the country’s waterways have dried up;
• Densely populated areas along the coastline have lowered the water table level, causing saltwater to leach into aquifers;
• Agricultural runoff pollutes bodies of water; and,
• Tourism creates an increased demand for freshwater.

Back at school, Richard introduced students to the topic of Bali’s water crisis through his fellowship pictures, videos and interviews. Then the students got to work, proposing solutions to four primary challenges listed above. The process included creating visual representations of their solutions through a classroom model, as well as science fair tri-folds.

This project sparked further student activism around the school, including elimination of single-use plastics and a new recycling program.

“Before the fellowship, my professional obligation as a science teacher was to inspire students to develop a love for learning while aiding their growth and development,” said Richard. “Now, my job continues to be what it was plus to inspire students to become positive contributors to society, the community, and the world within areas of science such as environment conservation. I have an obligation to share my experiences with others. I am grateful that I was able to have this opportunity to learn.”

We’re proud to share Richard’s story in celebration of World Water Day. Learn more about his fellowship by clicking here.

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Richard is a middle school science teacher, sustainability coordinator, and science department chairperson in Brooklyn, New York. Currently, Richard is leading an effort that would bring recycling into his middle school. He spearheaded the construction of a greenhouse with a roof rainwater collection system. Next year, he plans to bring a reusable water bottle filtered refill station into his school. He is a Math for America Master Teacher and Greentree Foundation member.

Abraham Lincoln High School, located on the west side of San Francisco, is far from the traditional ethnic neighborhoods of Chinatown and the Mission District; centers of the city’s Asian and Latinx communities. Eighty percent of Lincoln’s students identify with these ethnic groups so AP Human Geography teacher Leon Sultan decided to utilize his own city to design a research project in these well-known locations in order to help his students dig deeper into their own communities and see them in a new light.

“Concepts of identity, culture, language, ethnicity, nation and the concept of the ‘nation-state’ are all central to our course – as well as to the lives of my students,” said Sultan. “I sent students on field trips into their own communities to research these concepts through new lenses.”

And by lenses, Leon means figurative and literal. Mirroring  research he conducted on the Catalan independence movement in Barcelona last summer, Leon’s students took photographs, shot videos and recorded audio to document Sense of Place.  They then worked in mixed ability groups to produce Vlogs (video blogs) using a clear narrative structure, voice-over narration, text graphics, and montages of still photo/videos and interview footage. The result were research projects that effectively demonstrate course concepts, utilize academic vocabulary and connect learning to their lives.

Project 1: “What is the impact of gentrification in the Mission” and “Is Chinatown Authentic?”

Project 2: “Chinatown district through the lens of Human Geography”

“Students benefit from seeing their teachers as role models and life-long learners,” said Sultan. “This summer, they watched me conduct field research through Vlogs I produced on my fellowship. When I arrived back to school this fall, students I had never met before were already well acquainted with me, and with key course concepts. Then, they engaged in the same type of learning that I did. Ultimately I want this project to serve as a template for other teachers to follow as our school moves towards more technology integration and interactive project-based learning.”

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In celebration of Lunar New Year, we are also proud to highlight the learning of a few additional
2019 FFT Fellows:

Dory navigates Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park.

Today marks the anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt declaring the Grand Canyon a national monument. Many FFT Fellows share our 26th president’s commitment to environmental stewardship and use their grants to pursue learning related to the 1.7 billion year old formations, albeit each with a different focus.

Dory Manfre (Ashford, CT) designed a solo adventure of backpacking, backpacking and “canyoneering” in six different parks within the Grand Canyon. Researching  biodiversity of flora and fauna, including areas affected by the Kolob Fire of 2006, added to her biome expertise and now enhances her teaching with fourth graders, which includes video conferencing with Park Rangers she met.

Julie McGowan (Albertville, AL) chose the Grand Canyon as her fellowship destination to show students the relationship between land and water. Her tour included a float down the Colorado River with a guide who incorporated her Navajo Indian heritage into the learning. Her experiences not only enhance new “Land and Water” unit that aligns with the Alabama Course of Study Science Standards, but also enriches teachers she trains as part of the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative.

Rob and Bekah navigate Antelope Canyon.

Husband and wife team of Rob and Bekah Polemeni (Branford, CT) combined empathy with environmentalism in their fellowship to the Grand Canyon. The impact of climate change, specifically on indigenous peoples, now informs their high school students’ creation of a local service project based on water conservation.

“My students have the opportunity to make a difference on the local, national and global level because water scarcity is a global issue that is also happening in our backyard,” said Rob. “They are creating local educational campaigns while researching national and global water-related charities and microfinance opportunities. By posting their campaigns in local schools and businesses, they will see the impact of the learning on their community.”

Bekah added:

“As we explored, I noticed the impact of humans on each park’s level of biodiversity and sustainability. We also interviewed many scientists and park rangers who passionately discussed the impact of climate change on the health of the Arizona ecosystem. These experiences led me to a greater understanding of the need for preservation and care for these national treasures. Over the course of this year, students within my General Environmental Science class identified their level of water usage and conducted a debate focused on the development of land and urbanization in an area facing issue linked to water scarcity. This experience has helped me add personal insights and antidotes to class discussion.”

Reagan on a hike with her “Geology on the Edge” professor.

Reagan Kiser and Ashton Booher (Sandy Springs, SC) opted to learn from the experts by enrolling in the Grand Canyon Association’s “Geology on the Edge” class. Under the direction of a Ph.D. in geology, the duo learned how the Grand Canyon was formed and how fossil records teach history while embarking on hikes along multiple trails and the east rim. Their third graders in a rural, Title I school now benefit from a new “Rocks, Minerals and Landform” unit aligned with the South Carolina Science Standards.

On this day in 1908, President Roosevelt declared of the Grand Canyon, “Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is keep it for your children, your children’s children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.” Today, especially, we honor these teachers committed to carrying on his vision.

For more “Grand” Fellow stories, click here to learn about Cassie Pierce’s “Parks & Rec” fellowship and here for how Mary Beth Werner’s fellowship eroded her educational philosophy.

“It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.” Jane Austen wrote it and FFT Fellows embody it. Especially those who research Jane Austen on their fellowships.

Kelsey Nichols (Joel Barlow High School – Redding, CT) credits Austen with her decision to become an English teacher. Therefore, it stands to reason that she would write a grant proposal to experience lectures, workshops and culturally-immersive experiences at the Teacher’s Seminar at the University of Cambridge.

Kelsey with the original manuscript of “Sanditon”

“Through some strings pulled by the program’s director, I was granted an appointment at the King’s College Archives to see (and personally handle) Jane Austen’s original manuscript of her final and unfinished novel, Sanditon,” said Kelsey. “Handling Jane Austen’s manuscript and seeing her original work for myself reignited the reverence and respect I hold for literature, reminding me of why I thought I could become a teacher of literature and do my part in preserving such legacies.”

Kelsey says her fellowship provided the time, distance, and academic environment needed to reacquaint myself with my own love of literature.

“I reconnected with my reason for becoming a teacher and that alone created a renewed sense of purpose in teaching students how to pursue, access, evaluate, and apply literature to their writing and lives outside the classroom. With my teaching being reinvigorated by my time at Cambridge, my classroom will once again be passionate and engaging, not flat or tedious.”

One aspect of that classroom is a new Jane Austen Book Club. Artifacts and photos Kelsey collected at the Jane Austen House Museum add to the experience.

“Studemts read one of Austen’s novels per month and meet every seven school days to not only engage in critical discussion of her work, but also to experience Regency-era pastimes such as traditional letter writing in script and afternoon tea,” said Kelsey. “Each month concludes with an after-school film party in my classroom where we watch the movie adaptation of that month’s novel.”

Twenty miles south at Stamford High School, Melissa Hadsell‘s students celebrated Jane’s birthday on Friday, also the culmination of their Pride & Prejudice study. Students came to class dressed as their favorite characters (as Melissa did at The Jane Austen Center in Bath, England); tea, card games and Austen trivia rounded out the celebration. Enjoy these photos from their day and have a Darcy-worthy Jane Austen Day yourself!

Recently a group of sixty Fund for Teachers Fellows gathered in New Haven, CT, to consider how one’s environment impacts learning. Led by Laura Pirie, lecturer at Yale School of Architecture and principal of Pirie Associates Architects, teachers thought expansively and creatively about ideal learning modes and new learning places that could emerge to suit these ideals.

The keynote “Transformative Engagement: Transformative Environments” considered how we make places — not with technical skills, but with intentionality. Pirie then led group brainstorming around shifting classroom spaces in order to achieve teaching goals.

“We are all unique people with personal experiences, interests, and passions, and the idea here was for us to use that uniqueness to create transformative experiences for our learners,” said Marina Outwater, 2016 Fellow. “So, for example, I love to quilt, and I found a way to bring this into the classroom as we designed a story quilt to tell the story of a National Geographic Explorer’s work in Peru.”

Graduate students from the Yale School of Architecture inspired additional thoughts with a guided tour of Randolph Hall.

“We cannot be complacent, we cannot be stuck in our routines, we cannot just go through the motions of the day in the rooms we are given with the materials we are given without having some control and ability to change things, said Outwater. “We need a purpose, and this event allowed me to see that transformation is that purpose. While the day was ostensibly about transforming spaces and architecture, it was really about so much more than that.”

How can you reconsider your classroom? Use these keys of architectural designs Pirie provided our Fellows to create your ideal learning spaces…

This convening is the result of Fellows’ request for more “face time” with each other that inspires communication, conversation and reflection.

“Our Fellows are moving away from teaching strategies of previous generations and are looking toward the future by teaching from the lens of people sitting in front of them,” said program officer Dale Bernadoni. “This convening supported that and also Fund for Teachers’ larger mission of The Ramsden Project — to extend thought-provoking professional development beyond the fellowship experience.”

“It’s nice to have a network and not just feel like there’s a fellowship in your past that has ended, but that it’s a living thin that continues a conversation.” – Saul Fussiner, 2017 FFT Fellow

On Pearl Harbor Day, we remember the 2,403 people killed in the surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. The “date which will live in infamy” launched America’s entry into World War II; the bombings also resulted in the internment of 7,000 Japanese American citizens in relocation centers by order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Teaching the complexities of this time is complex in and of itself for Tim Barry. His students at Nathan Hale Middle School in Coventry, CT, fall within a wide range of ability levels.

“This drastic range creates difficulty when choosing and providing engaging and appropriate text for students of all abilities,” explained Tim. “Fortunately, with the broad scope of our World War II unit, we are able to provide high interest and appropriately leveled options so that all students may contribute and draw connections to classroom discussion and produce work that they can be proud of.”

But that unit lacked dialogue about the domestic impact of the war. Tim designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship fill that gap and, last summer, examined life in and around Japanese Relocation Camps in Utah and Colorado to help students:

• Connect to the past and apply that knowledge to the current climate in the United States?
• Draw parallels between the treatment of Japanese Americans in the United States and Jewish (and other minority) people in Europe during WWII?
• Understand the Pyramid of Hate and how the act of dehumanization impacts individuals and large groups through self reflection and journaling, and
• Support other disciplines across the curriculum such as math (budgeting), social studies (constitutional questions), and science (geographic significance of camps and land features that made them ideal).

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Last summer, I was fortunate to travel to Colorado and Utah to study Japanese Internment Camps as part of my Fund For Teachers fellowship.  My intention was to supplement our current World War II unit with experiences from the home front to allow students to draw parallels in today’s climate of cultural bias.  I want my students to draw inspiration my own curiosity and go out and explore the world.  I want them to challenge what they know or think they know and I want them to be acutely aware of how history has a tendency to repeat itself.

Granada Relocation Center memorial

Trip Details: I spent nine days traveling from the Topaz Camp in Delta, Utah to the Moab Isolation Center in Moab, Utah and finally to Granada Relocation Center (Amache) in Granada, Colorado.  In Delta, I was struck by the beautifully curated Topaz Museum which highlighted the blending of traditional Japanese culture with the easily recognizable American identity of the time.  High school yearbooks, recounts of baseball games, and a letterman’s jackets sat side-by-side with instruments of the Japanese tea ceremony and watercolor paintings.  Despite the dramatic civil rights violations perpetrated by the United States government, these proud people still created a sense of normalcy and everyday life.  The message of their resilience is one that I hope will resonate with my students.

Pictured with Mr. Kitajima and Dr. Clark

The highlight of my trip was being able to connect with Denver University at their biennial open house at the Amache site in Colorado.  There, I was introduced to Dr. Bonnie Clark who is the Project Director of the DU Amache Research Project.  I was able to meet several former internees of the camp, including 87 year old, Mr. Ken Kitajima who was a resident of the camp from ages 12-15.  My hope is that I can provide my students with a first hand account of what it was like to be of middle school age in a Relocation Camp.  I plan to connect with Mr. Kitajima virtually to conduct interviews and provide insight into his experience.  Perspective is one of the most important things I can offer to my students.

Middle school is a trying time and although the experiences of my students will be different than those of the past, the challenges will not be unique.  My hope is that my journey will foster a sense of intellectual curiosity as my students create their own world view and tackle the test of growing up in an increasingly demanding world.

The digital world in which we live allows people to instantly access information and make snap decisions based on their own experiences and biases, yet we don’t often slow down to assess all sides of a story. Ultimately, I want my students to be willing to challenge what is accepted by society and greet people from all walks of life with an open mind.

On this day in 1911, Suffragettes stormed Parliament in London. All were arrested and chose prison terms. Their leader was Emmeline Pankhurst – the focus of Eric Reid-St. John‘s fellowship.

Eric, a theatre teacher at Spain Park High School in Hoover, AL, researched Pankhurst and the suffrage movement they incited. While in London, he found in Trafalgar Square the location of the 1908 rally for which Mrs. Pankhurst was also arrested (pictured). He then studied with three avant-garde theatres, laying the groundwork for his students’ creation of a play about Lady Constance Lytton, an English aristocrat who disguised herself as a working woman to support suffragettes.

“Through research, I found that I could relate a lot to Constance,” said Rachel Ponder, who played the lead. “However, most of all, I was so in awe of her dedication towards the suffrage movement. Being a part of this creative process has inspired me both as a woman and as a human being.”

 

Ponder and 23 students representing each grade spent three months researching the suffrage movement in the United States and Britain before collaborating on a script and set. Each performer created a character journal comprised of photos, newspaper articles and other primary resources they uncovered. An Oxford professor who authored a book on Lytton Skyped into class to inform students’ research, as well.

“Current events were on my mind when I began this process and they continue to bring about a sense of urgency surrounding women’s rights,” said Eric. “My students took the history of this topic and explored its correlation with today’s headlines. They created a story that allowed people to see that the expansion of equal rights is the natural progression of a free society.”

Reviews are in, and at a state theatre competition, Ponder won Best Actress, her cast mates won Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Ensemble and Deeds Not Words was named Best in Show.

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Update from Eric:

“Several of our seniors from that year’s show have gone on to study theatre at various universities, including Viterbo in Wisconsin (our lead actress from Deeds Not Words studies musical theatre there), University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa; Samford University and Birmingham-Southern in Birmingham; and Emory in Atlanta.

That ended up being my last year teaching in Alabama, as I took a position at a school in Middlebury, VT, the following year. This marks my second year directing the Addison Repertory Theatre at the Hannaford Career Center teaching ART – a class that allows students from area schools to focus on either technical theatre or performance during the school day.

The techniques of devised theatre that I studied along with the suffragettes while in England that summer still impact the way I teach. The students and I have created two plays using devised methods over the past year; one took fables and folk tales and turned them into a children’s show that we toured to five local elementary schools, while the other challenged students to develop a series of short plays that were presented to sold-out crowds over two nights.

The theatre creation techniques I learned will continue to affect the way I teach for years to come. The research into the suffragettes will always continue to influence the way I view the struggle for equal rights. (I have also since been able to take my mother and daughter to the Women’s Rights National Park in Seneca Falls, NY, and have now attended two Convention Days there, annual celebrations that commemorate the first conference on women’s rights in the US).

Thank again for thinking of Deeds Not Words. I believe that was one of the most immediate and important works I’ve been a part of.”

Program officers are Fund for Teachers’ primary point of contact for grant recipients. These individuals field applicants’ questions; support new Fellows throughout the summer; and continue to encourage them once back in the classroom. Other than living vicariously through the Fellows with whom they work, program officers’ favorite part of the job is meeting those teachers in person — which Alycia Johnston did this month at Reflection events in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Chicago.

Reflections are just that, evenings in which Fellows convene to reflect on all they accomplished over the summer. We asked Alycia to share a little about these inspiring nights when she witnesses the impact of Fund for Teachers grants…

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]Q[/minti_dropcap] You see Fellows twice a year: at Orientations in the spring and Reflections in the fall, after they’ve had a few months to process their fellowships. What’s the “before and after” you observe?

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]A[/minti_dropcap] At Orientations, I hand teachers checks for up to $10,000 and say, “We believe in you and your ideas.” Because they rarely hear this sentiment, the teachers look shocked — even though they worked diligently on their proposals for months and received their award notifications via email weeks earlier. During these “pre-fellowship” events, the teachers are reserved, cautious and sit far apart from each other. During the Reflections, however, the same teachers are chatty, warm, laughing and sharing their learning. Getting their attention can be a challenge because they are eager to network and leverage each other’s fellowships to benefit more students.

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]Q[/minti_dropcap]What are the most common things Fellows say during Reflection events?

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]A[/minti_dropcap] Hands down, that they’ve never been trusted with so much autonomy as educators. Teachers live in a one-size-fits-all/cookie cutter/prescribed environment when it comes to professional development, so the freedom represented by a Fund for Teachers grant is unprecedented for most. Fellows talk about walking back into their classrooms after their fellowships with a confidence they didn’t previously have. They feel like experts on topics they pursued during the summer and that impacts how they teach the rest of the year. I also hear:

• “I’ve never seen an organization that meets me where I am.”
• “At every turn, Fund for Teachers says, ‘Yes! Do that!'”
• “Throughout the process of designing a blueprint for learning, executing my plans and bringing it back to students, I felt honored, trusted and respected as a professional.”

Read more about the Tennessee Reflection here.

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]Q[/minti_dropcap]You’ve been a program officer for eight years. What advice do you have for teachers preparing their application for a 2020 grant?

[minti_dropcap style=”circle”]A[/minti_dropcap] In my opinion, the most important part of crafting a solid proposal is identifying one’s passion. It’s so clear when someone wants to travel to Italy and writes a proposal for that purpose versus when someone finds a need in their practice or gap in their knowledge and then creates a road map for how they are going to address those learning goals. Also, no matter what teachers want to learn or where they want to learn it, their proposals should be personal and capture their passion for the topic. If a teacher can make a case for why it’s vital for them to make this fellowship happen and their passion shines through, that’s a great start.

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Click here to meet three of our program officers and hear their tips for crafting a strong grant proposal.

(Pictured L-R: Salma Zaky, Alycia Johnston and Stephanie Ascherl while filming a Facebook Live tutorial. Watch for upcoming Wednesday Webinars led by these experts on November 13, December 11 and January 8. Register here.)

Barbara Walters said, “Most of us have trouble juggling. The woman who says she doesn’t is someone whom I admire but have never met.” FFT Fellow Helen Dole, however, seems to be managing fairly well. Helen teaches sixth grade at Lower Manhattan Community Middle School in New York City. With her teammate Molly Goodell, she and five-month-old daughter Sophie Tilmant set off for Alaska this summer to tour boreal forest, coastal, tundra, and glacial ecosystems and collect first-hand evidence of climate change for a sixth grade unit called Human Impacts. She shares some of her experiences below…

Why was it vital for you to pursue this particular opportunity/experience?

An educator in Denali shares with us about the methane that is being released as a result of permafrost melting.

We teach in a school that has students from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. Some students have second homes in the Hamptons, while others have grandparents/aunts/uncles cousins all under the same small roof in Chinatown. We previously did a Human Impact project; students relied on internet searches to source information. Now we have brought real data; photos, interviews, and our stories to ALL of our students–we are bringing the world to them even if they have yet to board a plane.

I now see the bigger picture in a deeper way and I’m more passionate about making my students ‘see’ it, too. It’s easy to read articles about climate change and cognitively understand what is happening. It’s an entirely different boat to stand by the sign showing where a glacier was just 10 years ago (and now it’s ice-free) and not viscerally feel how the world is being affected.

Why was this opportunity transformative for your teaching on a macro-level?

On our heli-hike adventure, we learned how about it’s not how warm it is, but rather the length of the growing season that is changing the vegetation.

Teaching is a joy and a grind. You are always “on;” engaging with students in person, families via email, via google docs with colleagues, or in person at staff meetings. This opportunity allowed me to turn my brain to a different mode from the regular routine. I was learning, yes, but in a more open and unencumbered way than the minute-by-minute schedule of a middle school environment. I landed back in NYC feeling enriched and invigorated for the year ahead.

Also, we experience the world through storytelling and now, our stories are going to be much richer and more vivid; filled with cutting edge science and personal anecdotes from our time in Alaska. They will be able to cite specific examples — equisetum plants spreading, the number of days above 50 degrees Fahrenheit North of the Arctic Circle, soil that doesn’t hold rain, roadways decimated from melting permafrost, increased frequency of wildfires, heavier snowfalls in winter, methane gas being released at an alarming rate, the list goes on — and then have teacher stories/images to connect to these sometimes hard-to-internalize science facts.

How did your fellowship changed your personal and/or professional perspective?

In 2010, the ice used to be where we’re standing.

I went into this fellowship with the understanding that I was traveling with my co-teacher, Molly, and that we would strengthen our co-teaching skills on this trip. I didn’t know how much so, though! I traveled with my 5-month-old infant, so I relied on Molly in SO many ways for support and sanity. This journey to Alaska was like the ultimate trust-builder. If students thought we completed each other’s sentences BEFORE this trip, now they’re going to think communicate telepathically!

Additionally, living in a city, it is easy to go about my day and not feel fundamentally affected by climate change. My food, my transportation, my workplace, and home are all far enough removed from Mother Earth that I am not forced to see how climate change is a real thing affecting real people, animals, and plants. On this fellowship, I was able to witness how ice has shifted, plants and animals have migrated, and people have altered their ways of life because of a warming planet.

And finally, what we’re all here for…What did Sophie think?

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Helen is in her 15th year of teaching. She is a New York City Teaching Fellow, Math for America Master Teacher, and former Department of Energy Teacher as Scientist. She believes in helping students to see science in their everyday lives; continually striving to make connections between their world and the science they are learning about. Outside the classroom she is a passionate runner. She’s a proud mom to two young children.

America’s teachers were among the first responders on September 11, instantly becoming students’ source of information and calm. In the years following the tragedy, multiple teachers have turned to Fund for Teachers for grants to develop strategies and resources that help students process what happened and also provide context for those not yet born when the planes flew into the World Trade Center. One such FFT Fellow is Julie Gallegos, teacher at Bret Harte Middle School in Oakland, CA.

In 2017, she spent one month in Morocco participating in an intensive Arabic language course and visiting sites of historical and cultural significance to create curriculum that promotes understanding of Islam among Muslim and non-Muslim students.

As a teacher and instructional leader in a diverse middle school program for recently arrived immigrant students, all of Julie’s students are English Language Learners. Despite a growing number of students arriving from Arabic speaking countries, the school had no classroom teachers who spoke the language or had even studied the Islamic culture.

In front of Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

“I am passionate about being an advocate for my immigrant students and their families,” said Julie. “I already had an understanding and knowledge of Spanish and Latino cultures, which prepared me to be a culturally-informed educator for students of this background. However, considering the current political climate regarding Muslims and immigration, I felt it was critical for me to be informed and ready to speak and act on behalf of our Muslim students.”

Julie chose Morocco as her fellowship destination due to its rich and diverse history, as well as a large number of religious and culturally-significant Islamic sites. (Morocco is also one of the few Islamic countries for which the US State Department has not issued travel advisories.) For two weeks, she enrolled in Dar Loughat, a language institute in Tetouan, where she spent mornings in language classes and afternoons and weekends joining excursions to local cultural and religious sites. Her experience also included a homestay with a local family. Julie joined a 14-day guided tour of Morocco for the second half of her fellowship, filming mosques, universities, museums and, especially, interviews with people in large cities and small villages to inform lessons for students and professional development for colleagues.

Doorway to University of Al Quaraouiyine, the oldest university in the world

“What struck me most about Morocco is how peacefully different cultures and religions of people are living together. In the city of Tetouan, Muslims, Christians, and Jews live together in close quarters as neighbors and consider each other brothers and sisters. The people I met connected with each other through their common humanity and didn’t view religious or cultural differences as a barrier. Witnessing this type of human connection inspired me to plan team-building and cultural exchange opportunities for my students to help them better connect with and understand each other.

Julie now uses her experiences and insights not only in her classroom, but also in supporting her role as liaison with the school’s Family Resource Center, which facilitates the intake process for new students. She believes her new, basic knowledge of even simple Arabic phrases will indicate to families that the school community cares about all students and that teachers are making an effort to understand their cultures.

Additionally, as an instructional leader at her school, Julie is working to design workshops for her colleagues that discuss implications for teaching Muslim immigrant students and facilitate cross-cultural understanding among the students of diverse backgrounds.

“Studying Islam and Arabic in Morocco allowed me to learn about Islamic cultures, customs, and values and different education systems our students may be coming from so that I can share this knowledge with teachers,” said Julie.”I will design a program to share this information and also address teachers’ questions and misconceptions about our students and their cultures and religion. Overall, my goal is to help lead the staff at my school in being more inclusive and understanding of our Muslim students.”