Thank you to FFT Fellow Bethany Seal and her team mates, Hannah Jones and Heather Serpas (West Harrison High School – Gulfport, MS) for sharing this reflection on independence after recently completing their fellowship contextualizing American history to create a new unit celebrating and reflecting the diversity of their students and bring to life literary texts used in the classroom.

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Growing up, we celebrated Independence Day without fully understanding the meaning, or the purpose, of the holiday–cookouts, family gatherings, and fireworks were what “independence” meant to us. Throughout our years in school, we learned about historic events like the American Revolution, read speeches by politicians about freedom and independence, and recited the “Pledge of Allegiance,” always, of course, ending with the phrase “with liberty and justice for all.” 

As English teachers, we have studied beyond the basics of these events, and have more closely analyzed these words, but it wasn’t until our Fund for Teachers fellowship experience that the enormity of the history, and the weight of the words, became fully apparent to us. 

We’ve all heard “give me liberty or give me death,” and we actually use the speech in our classrooms, but no amount of reading compares to the impact of actually participating in a mock revolution in Boston, or touring the same area where this nation’s founders were bold enough to start a revolution. Our forefathers were literally dying for independence, a right we so often take for granted.

In Philadelphia, we visited the place where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written, and we stood next to the ultimate symbol for freedom, the Liberty Bell; in New York, we visited Lady Liberty herself. Nothing could have prepared us for the weight carried by the experiences of those who were there before us, the people who paved the way for our current freedoms.

In Washington, D.C., we witnessed firsthand the memorials constructed in remembrance of our country’s journey to independence. We felt the impact of those who sacrificed their lives for the independence we have today; there, we thought about the families they left behind–all for the freedom they believed in, the freedom they wanted each of us to experience. We stood in the place where Dr. King expressed his dream for the future, a dream for freedom, independence, and equality for all.

We experienced what it meant to have our safety, our security, and our independence threatened when we visited the September 11 Museum and felt the devastation that an attack on our freedom could have–an attack that happened during our own lifetimes.

These experiences showed us how each of the freedoms we are now afforded stems from brave people standing up against oppression of some kind. Each of these experiences taught us something about independence, bravery, and most importantly, about those people who were involved–people with unfathomable courage and determination, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. 

Through each of these experiences, though, we also began to understand that “liberty and justice” isn’t yet “for all.” Everyone in this country, and many people across the world, currently are not afforded all of the freedoms, all of the independence, they should have. Everyone isn’t able to express themselves freely. Everyone in the world can’t worship freely. Everyone isn’t free from want or free from fear. Though our country and the world have overcome so much in terms of independence and in individuals living freely, realistically, everyone isn’t free just yet. 

Like many, before this journey, we took our freedom for granted. The independence we are afforded now didn’t come freely to others, and for some, these freedoms still don’t come freely. We experienced places where history was made–places where independence was won. We were surrounded by information about those who were brave enough, and those who were bold enough, to make history and to fight for the freedom and independence they believed in. 

Thanks to Fund for Teachers and this fellowship, our view of independence has been transformed. Though the places we visited were significant in history, the lessons we’ve taken from these places are more relevant today than ever. This Independence Day, we will stop to reflect on the experiences we had and the brave people who came before us to ensure our right to be free–and we’ll think about those people currently fighting for freedoms and for their independence still to come.

 

To introduce you to our newest grant recipients, we’ve started Fellow Friday. Last week, we highlighted seven teachers who designed and are pursuing fellowships around music education. For this holiday weekend, we profile multiple teachers who dedicated their fellowships to various aspects our America’s history, including our fight for independence, Westward Expansion, our military in Vietnam and Cambodia and slavery.

Click here for a complete list of grant recipients.

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Cristina Bettesworth & Anna Villegas | Highland Elementary School – Reedsport, OR

Document prominent sties relevant in US History from the 1600s-1800s, particularly the westward expansion, Oregon Trail and gold rush, to develop a working knowledge and database of resources that engage third graders with a high level of adverse childhood experiences.

“Rich, historical content was never a focus in teacher preparatory classes, where reading and math is generally the focus. Another huge roadblock for us in the classroom is the lack of access to materials to teach history in a meaningful way. We currently do not have any history curriculum and have to pull from a variety of resources to present any history to our students. Our learning goal is to educate ourselves better in US history so that we are able to convey the importance of topics to students”

Tracy Dunn | Franklin School of Innovation – Ashville, NC

Survey with a questionnaire adapted from the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project eyewitnesses to American military actions in southeast Asia between 1965 and 1975 to develop resources that teach the consequences of America’s military presence and actions for civilians in conflict zones.

“While American educators have the resources to teach the causes and consequences of our military presence and military actions for Americans, we do not have the resources to teach the consequences of our military presence and actions for civilians in conflict zones. My meaningful examination of civilian eyewitness accounts of American military actions will fulfill and expand upon state standards and provide the full history that American educators need.”

Shira Engel | Elm City Montessori School – New Haven, CT

Conduct on-the-ground research in Washington, D.C. and attend the Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking’s “Thinking Historically Through Writing” to create two primary documents-based American History units that integrate history, reading and writing into a Humanities experience for Montessori students.

“My first learning goal is to learn about the history of the United States in ways that, to use Howard Zinn’s words, “emphasize the role of working people, women, people of color, and organized social movements in shaping history” through touring key historical sites in the nation’s capital. My second learning goal is to use my research to develop two American history units that use primary sources as key materials of study: one on the founding of the United States and another on American social movements.”

Hannah Jones, Bethany Seal & Heather Serpas | West Harrison High School – Gulfport, MS
Contextualize American history from Washington, D.C. to Boston, MA, to create a new unit celebrating and reflecting the diversity of our students and bring to life literary texts used in the classroom.

“Our goal is to spark student knowledge a d curiosity by contextualizing historic & literary pieces with stories we’ll tell, pictures we’ll show and videos we’ll create from our experiences — and by adding a new unit where authors and texts more closely reflect the diverse students sitting in our classrooms, ultimately leading to a student driven research project.”

Ray Walters & Kurt Zimmerman | Highville Charter School – New Haven, CT
Garret Griffin | East Rock Community Magnet School – New Haven, CT

Experience UNESCO sites associated with the enslavement of people in Connecticut, Louisiana, as well as related museums in Massachusetts and Washington D.C. to facilitate culturally-relevant and emotionally-thoughtful classroom conversations about the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade.

“In our practice as teachers, we have found that when the topic of slavery is brought up, the majority of the children, who happen to be children of color, frequently respond with frustration, dismissive embarrassment, laughter and/or silence. Addressing the embarrassment and shame encountered during conversations around slavery is critical for building our capacity to provide effective classroom instruction that instills cultural pride. Additionally, it improves our ability to facilitate dynamic classroom discussions that provide a voice of pride for African American children and other children of color.”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we invest in the most important component of any classroom — the teacher,” said Karen Eckhoff, Executive Director of FFT. “Educators are facing countless challenges every day, and Fund for Teachers is dedicated to further diversifying the ways that we can support them. Our grants represent trust in teachers’ professionalism, creativity, and vision, offering flexibility to meet the unique needs of each classroom, with the students remaining the ultimate beneficiaries as they continue to grow and learn in today’s ever-changing world.”

We look forward to introducing you to more 2022 FFT Fellows next Friday!

To introduce you to our newest grant recipients, we’ve started Fellow Friday. Last week, we highlighted seven teachers who designed and are pursuing fellowships around Indigenous Studies. Today, we meet a group of Fellows who chose different avenues of pursuing a range of subjects supporting music education.

Click here for a complete list of grant recipients.

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Mark Billota | Roger Ludlowe Middle School – Fairfield, CT

Enroll in a series of virtual master classes in music composition and arranging from world renowned composers and musicians to develop skills that facilitate music composition that engage students in musical performances.

“There are times when a need arises for me to actually compose a part/song or arrange something for my students in a different format or style, but I’m lacking the skill set to do so, as this was something only briefly touched upon in my undergraduate studies and really not at all in my graduate studies. My students will really benefit from my ability to arrange “fun” pop songs they recognize on my own in a way that matches their current skill set.”

Jason Malli | Vinal Technical High School – Middletown, CT

Attend the Summer World Music Pedagogy Workshop at West Virginia University, SPLICE Institute for Arts and Technology Innovations at Western Michigan University, and Restorative Practices Online at the University of Maine to create opportunities for student self-expression-fostering performance as an experiential, self-paced, recreational, therapeutic, inter-leveled, individualized workshop.

“I’ve struggled to find effective and expedited manners to foster individual and group relationships that honor individuality and learning styles and also induce the curiosity, inquiry, and hunger to learn for sake of growth. Connecting to students in ways of mutual respect during such traumatic times to inspire them to want to
really learn enough to get them to become metacognitive learners is crucial and if that can happen in their
arts elective, those skills can transfer into their entire life long learning makeup.”

Michael Peters, Kim Shaker & Holly Sisk  | Tahlequah Middle School – Tahlequah, OK
Participate in the Broadway Teachers Workshop in New York City to receive intensive, innovative and immersive instruction from professional artists to give students a chance to express themselves through musical and technical theatre and address their need to experience love and belonging.

“While most of my assignments have a heavy component of choice (how to interpret the prompt assigned, what subject they want to photograph), students often struggle to tell their story. I want to study storytellers and artifacts from the past to see how first peoples documented their lives and connect that storytelling to the work my students do with photography. . I want them to experience the beauty of natural surroundings and I want to help them see the beauty in their everyday surroundings. I want them to experience how their everyday surroundings impact the story of their lives.”

Kathryn Morse &  Karin Mitchell| Groton Middle School – Groton, CT
Research in Trinidad and Tobago music rooted in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade to create strong historical connections and deeper cultural understanding for students, teachers and parents alike, as they discover the many commonalities within the school’s diverse cultural mix through music.

“We designed this grant to broaden our knowledge of world drumming, specifically African drumming, Steel Pan, and the development of the many other styles of drumming which emerged from the African and East Indian religious, cultural celebrations. We hope to use this new knowledge to create strong historical connections and deeper cultural understanding for individuals within our community, students, teachers and parents alike, as we discover the many commonalities within our diverse cultural mix through music.”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we invest in the most important component of any classroom — the teacher,” said Karen Eckhoff, Executive Director of FFT. “Educators are facing countless challenges every day, and Fund for Teachers is dedicated to further diversifying the ways that we can support them. Our grants represent trust in teachers’ professionalism, creativity, and vision, offering flexibility to meet the unique needs of each classroom, with the students remaining the ultimate beneficiaries as they continue to grow and learn in today’s ever-changing world.”

We look forward to introducing you to more 2022 FFT Fellows next Friday!

To introduce you to our newest grant recipients, we’ve started Fellow Friday. Last week, we highlighted two teachers from Manilus, NY, who designed their fellowship to impact English Language Learners. Today, we meet Fellows pursuing justice, injustices, history, art, sciences and lifestyles of Indigenous Peoples.

Click here for a complete list of grant recipients.

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Anthony Bergstrom | East Hartford High School – East Hartford, CT

While exploring the historic geography of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, research the history of the Native American people’s to engage students in the study of indigenous cultures, Westward Expansion and the Progressive Era.

“The impact that westward expansion has had on the Native American tribes of the west is profound. While exploring these national parks, my focus will be on the history of the tribes that inhabited these lands (and continue to), their culture and the impact that westward expansion had on them.”

Rachel Clement  | Two Rivers Public Charter School – Washington, DC

Interview tribal leaders and members of the Patawomeck, Rappahannock, Piscataway, and other indigenous nations of Maryland and Virginia to build community-school relationships and create resources that draw connections between indigenous perspectives and restorative justice practices.

“As an associate member of the VA-state-recognized Patawomeck Indian Tribe, I would like to draw on my connections to indigenous community within the Virginia, Maryland, DC region to learn more about East Coast indigenous concepts of justice, local to our area. My hope is that in deepening my (and my network of educators’) relationships with local indigenous community and ancestral restorative justice systems, I can benefit both the areas of cultivating a truly restorative culture at school, as well as deepening relationships
and knowledge of our local communities.”

John Goodwin | BASIS Phoenix – Phoenix, AZ

Conduct research at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC to build two project-based learning experiences that raise awareness of Indigenous experiences at American Indian boarding schools and enhance the physical and digital presence of one such site in our city.

“I will create an extensive database of materials concerning the history of American Indian boarding schools, as well as the presentation of Native American history to the public. In the classroom, my students’ capstone project will require groups to design a two-pronged proposal for teaching materials, on the one hand creating digital history lesson plans to share with educators interested in implementing primary sources on the topic, and on the other hand proposing enhancements to the public history visibility and utility of an under-utilized site in our city.”

Jen Kennedy | College Park High School – Pleasant Hill, CA
Photograph the Southwest landscape (day & night) and also ancient cliff dwellings to document the relationship of First Peoples to the land and demonstrate for career & technical education students how migration & relationship to the land is a common theme in humanity.

“While most of my assignments have a heavy component of choice (how to interpret the prompt assigned, what subject they want to photograph), students often struggle to tell their story. I want to study storytellers and artifacts from the past to see how first peoples documented their lives and connect that storytelling to the work my students do with photography. . I want them to experience the beauty of natural surroundings and I want to help them see the beauty in their everyday surroundings. I want them to experience how their everyday surroundings impact the story of their lives.”

Emily Schmidt | Bronx High School of Science – Bronx, NY
Participate in the Earthwatch expedition “Amazon Riverboat Exploration” in Iquitos, Peru, surveying biodiversity and contributing to community-based conservation projects with the indigenous Cocama people, to broaden students’ perspectives of science to include field biology and indigenous science.

“Participating in this expedition will allow me to take part in many different methods of studying animal populations in the field and see how the data are being used to support not only the local biodiversity but also the livelihoods of the indigenous Cocama people. In fact, the project is located in the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo community reserve, which was the first community reserve established in Peru. Community reserves are protected areas that explicitly benefit local communities as well as wildlife and are managed by indigenous groups.”

Lorrie Storozuk | Tolland Intermediate School – Tolland, CT
Journey through two National Parks and part of the Nez Perce Historic Trail in Montana and Wyoming to experience the historical setting of the book Thunder Rolling in the Mountains and enrich learning about Native American history for an integrated English Language Arts/Social Studies curriculum unit.

“By sharing personal visuals, photographs, and current stories of travel from the region, I can show students the evidence that people eventually understood how the Native Americans’ lifestyle and culture is connected to their homeland and the natural resources because, not only did the U.S. government protect the land of the region by creating several National Parks, but also preserved the Nez Perce National Historic Trail from 1877, and we are still able to visit it today.”

Catherine Teulings | North End Middle School – Waterbury, CT
Explore in Australia how Aboriginal art expresses the soul to introduce students to this art form as a tool for promoting self-reflection and deep learning while also building stronger bridges of understanding across cultures.

“This fellowship will offer an opportunity for me to incorporate a different art form into my curriculum, one that offers another way for students to express themselves. Aboriginal art will create ways to be involved emotionally and personally in their art, seeing themselves as part of the art, as well as being part of a solution. This will also give them the sense that they are part of the greater world, and can solve real problems through being creative, and collaborative with their classmates.”

Sunny Zheng-Herb | William Smith High School – Aurora, CO
Explore Native Alaskan arts and culture in Alaska to incorporate elements of this art tradition in the classroom through the teaching of 3D art forms and elevate awareness of non-Western arts practices.

“While my school has offered a few classes centering on local Ute, Apache and Navajo cultures, no class has ever touched on Alaska Native peoples. I believe that the introduction of Alaska Native art traditions in my school will engender new ways of viewing and creating art, more space for mindful practice in the classroom, and opportunities for community and self empowerment through the celebration of diverse and oft-effaced cultures.”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we invest in the most important component of any classroom — the teacher,” said Karen Eckhoff, Executive Director of FFT. “Educators are facing countless challenges every day, and Fund for Teachers is dedicated to further diversifying the ways that we can support them. Our grants represent trust in teachers’ professionalism, creativity, and vision, offering flexibility to meet the unique needs of each classroom, with the students remaining the ultimate beneficiaries as they continue to grow and learn in today’s ever-changing world.”

We look forward to introducing you to more 2022 FFT Fellows next Friday!

To introduce you to our newest grant recipients, we’ve started Fellow Friday. Last week, we highlighted two teachers from Manilus, NY, who designed their fellowship focused on gender, art and story. Today, we broaden the lens to look at teachers who chose to pursue learning around the topic of English Language Learners (ELL).

According to the US Department of Education, “English learners (ELs) are a growing part of the K–12 student population. Between the 2009–10 and 2014–15 school years, the percentage of EL students increased in more than half of the states, with increases of over 40 percent in five states.” Rather one refers to this set of students as ELLs, First Language Not English (FLNE), Limited English Proficient (LEP) or Language Minority Students, these Fellows value them as vital components of classrooms and our citizenry. And the learning the teachers have planned speaks to the dedication, creativity and passion our Fellows embody for their pupils and profession.

Click here for a complete list of grant recipients.

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Annette Cazley, Eihab Abbas El-Azazy, Adam Peritz & Micah Reyes
Samuel Fels High School – Philadelphia, PA

 

 

 

 

 

Document in Italy and Greece the intersectionality of languages to teach English learners strategies for breaking down vocabulary and decoding words using Greek and Latin roots and, in doing so, empower them to better understand science based vocabulary, musical terms, and historical events.

“The majority of our students have had very limited exposure to English prior to migrating to the USA. Although they are newcomers, they are expected to assimilate seamlessly and read grade level materials in not only English classes but in all their content classes including, Math, Science and Social Studies. They must do this without the prerequisite background knowledge of learning the meaning of word parts that native English speakers are exposed to in elementary grades. We think making this connection quickly is actually vital and the key to bridging the academic gap for English Learners.”

Kristin Delk & Joy McKarns | Northmont Middle School – Claymont, OH
Sarah Gosser | Northmont High School – Claymont, OH

 

 

 

 

 

Experience El Salvador’s culture, language, and school and community functions to better address the academic and social emotional learning needs of English Learners of Latino heritage.

“Dayton, Ohio has always welcomed immigrant families and we see proof of that with the increase in our Latinx student population. Our students of Hispanic heritage have increased 61% in the last four years. The language barriers are enough to shut any student down, but the social barriers can be overwhelming. Educating these students requires extra time, extra responsibility, extra resources, and empathetic-culturally aware teachers.”

Caroline Jewell | New Milford High School – New Milford, CT
Enroll at the Instituto Superior de Espanol (ISE) in Quito, Ecuador, which incorporates literacy, culture and language, to better engage the influx of English Language Learners bringing a rich cultural heritage who are eager to acculturate.

“In order to help my students acculturate into American society, I must first understand their culture. Immersing myself in South American day to day life, language, customs and history will give me a deeper understanding of who my students are as individuals and the challenges they face. It will also help me better understand their goals. I wish to prepare them so that they will be college and career ready and able to meet the demands of a multicultural society.”

Ryan McGoff | East Boston High School – Boston, MA
Complete intensive language lessons in Medellin and Cartegena, Colombia, to enhance fluency and develop culturally-responsive curriculum for English Language Learners with disabilities.

“By approaching this learning experience through the framework of Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices (CLSP), my goal is to gain a deeper grasp of the cultural, political, social, and economic influences that shape these realities. Additionally, I hope to be responsive to the conditions of a student’s lived experiences and the histories that created them. By completing a Spanish language immersion program, I will begin to develop my understanding of all of these factors and become a more culturally responsive educator.”

Jeff Timberlake | Guild Elementary – Boston, MA
Investigate in Medellin, Colombia, the Metrocable and railway system, learning how it became a symbol of transformation for low-income communities, to inspire English Language Learners and students with special and/or high needs to harness their unique strengths and interests so they have the best opportunity to be productive and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

“This deep dive connects to my current content where I teach how transportation has been a transformative power in the US with profound impacts, both good and bad, dating back to 1869 when the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads met in Utah to complete the Transcontinental Railroad. Through this lens of history we see that the transcontinental railroad created new opportunities for well paying jobs, rapid economic growth, and connecting distant people, yet also happened on the backs of exploited laborers and land that was unlawfully seized from tribal nations. This proposal challenges the single story of Medellin as mere murder capital of the world and encourages students to look at and engage with transportation in a new way.”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we invest in the most important component of any classroom — the teacher,” said Karen Eckhoff, Executive Director of FFT. “Educators are facing countless challenges every day, and Fund for Teachers is dedicated to further diversifying the ways that we can support them. Our grants represent trust in teachers’ professionalism, creativity, and vision, offering flexibility to meet the unique needs of each classroom, with the students remaining the ultimate beneficiaries as they continue to grow and learn in today’s ever-changing world.”

We look forward to introducing you to more 2022 FFT Fellows next Friday!

To introduce you to our newest grant recipients, we’ve started Fellow Friday. Last week, we highlighted a fellowship focused on the bee population & environmental science. To begin Gay Pride Month, we chose to focus on two teachers who designed their fellowship to link gender, art and story.

Liz Lutz & Elizabeth DelConte (Fayetteville Manlius High School – Manilus, NY) will research across France gender disparities in Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel’s artistic relationship to create a unit of study related to gender and representation in the world of art that springboards student exploration of competing narratives through Literature and writing.

 

Click here for a complete list of grant recipients

“Despite the sheer number of authors and poets writing, our high school students remain exposed to very few writers; those authors they do spend time with still tend to represent mainstream culture: white, male, and straight,” wrote the teaching team in their grant proposal. “We believe that students deserve to be exposed to many voices and stories. Equally important is giving students a chance to experience those stories through competing or complementary voices.”

The primary vehicle for this research will be women’s representation — and the lack thereof — in art history. Through research at the Louvre and Musee D’Orsay in Paris, Liz and Elizabeth will document female artists’ works placement relative to their male counterparts within the museums, as well as stories presented about their work. Observing artwork at the Musée Rodin and Musée Camille Claudel (Rodin’s apprentice/mistress) will provide further material for a new “Competing Narratives” class this fall. Finally, visits to Monet’s home in Giverny and also Versailles allow for reflection on the roles of women in art and history and, as the duo wrote, “unearth forgotten stories” to share with students in 9-12 English classes, as well as those in elective courses including History and Structure of the English Language, Gender and Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Film Studies.

Helping students who feel “other” is the driving motivation behind this fellowship. According to Liz and Elizabeth, the school’s student body has a growing number of students who identify with the LGBTQ community, but that is only one population that tends to feel marginalized: Students who are not high-performing, as well as those with less financial means struggle with mental health issues (which Claudel also experienced).

“We want them to fully experience the issues with representation. This can then be extended to an understanding of how diversity and equity rely on first-hand knowledge. The diversity that many of our students experience is limited, so we want them to understand how limiting that is when attempting to understand others,” they said. “So many of our students express an interest in the stories of the often-silenced. We’d like to harness this energy and curiosity and bring it into the classroom. Our project gives students a chance to broach these conversations in the safe space of the classroom.”

One more thing inspired this work — students’ hunger for change.

“Students have explicitly called for new texts and authors to be added to the curriculum as a way to challenge the often white, male, straight voices typically taught,” said Elizabeth and Liz. “We hope our fellowship will inspire more students to challenge the narratives that reign even here in our school and classrooms. Certainly students who are interested in uncovering silenced stories will be in a unique position to instigate positive change.”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we invest in the most important component of any classroom — the teacher,” said Karen Eckhoff, Executive Director of FFT. “Educators are facing countless challenges every day, and Fund for Teachers is dedicated to further diversifying the ways that we can support them. Our grants represent trust in teachers’ professionalism, creativity, and vision, offering flexibility to meet the unique needs of each classroom, with the students remaining the ultimate beneficiaries as they continue to grow and learn in today’s ever-changing world.”

We look forward to introducing you to more 2022 FFT Fellows next Friday!

To introduce you to our newest grant recipients, we’ve started Fellow Friday. Last week, we highlighted fellowships focused on Astronomy. Today, we focus on one particular fellowship with implications on food and food security, sustainable agriculture, climate change mitigation, poverty reduction and rural job creation. That’s a lot of pressure on the back of an insect with no knees.

Laura Wilmoth (Oak Ridge High School – Oakridge, TN) designed a fellowship to collaborate with Earthwatch scientists researching in Utah how human behavior is impacting the bee population and ecosystem to develop a citizen science project for biology and environmental science students that builds trust in science through scientific literacy.

 

Click here for a complete list of grant recipients

Laura’s motivation was not to prop up World Bee Day (which the United Nations declared as today, May 20) but to prop up the validation of science. She explains:

“As a high school biology and environmental science teacher, scientific literacy including critical thinking and problem solving is at the core of my mission as an educator. However, just as we have seen throughout the nation in the last 18 months, I have many students whose parents, grandparents, or other care takers have recently begun expressing a strong mistrust of science for a variety of reasons,” wrote Laura, who holds an undergraduate degree in biology and a Master’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology. “If we build a generation of students with a strong science foundation then they will be able to carry those skills into adulthood. As a society, we will no doubt be more prepared to tackle and make informed decisions about some of the most pressing issues facing the world today.”

For two weeks, Laura’s days will bee spent on specimen surveys, scouting wildflower/pollinators, preserving genetic tissue, collecting seeds and related tasks undertaken by researchers. Evenings will be spent listening to lectures by resident scientists.

But why bees?

“Species are facing dramatic declines that have many scientists calling this time period our 6th mass extinction. Some species, called keystone species, have a central role in maintaining the health of the ecosystem,” said Laura. “Bees are keystone species because of their role as pollinators, and therefore, declines in the bee population can have wide ranging implications for ecosystem health and human food resources.”

And, because upon returning to the classroom, Laura plans on developing a project based learning, citizen science project around pollinators so students can experience hands-on science with real-world impact.

“Ultimately, if the data we collect helps in some way protect the bees, we will be benefiting the plants and animals as well as farmers in our community which can have a ripple effect on nearby ecosystems,” wrote Laura in her grant proposal. “Further, the lasting impacts of this experience on my students can improve the community and society as a whole in that students who take part will be more scientifically literate. Then, my students will develop into scientifically literate and curious people who will be better prepared to solve the problems of today and of the future.”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we invest in the most important component of any classroom — the teacher,” said Karen Eckhoff, Executive Director of FFT. “Educators are facing countless challenges every day, and Fund for Teachers is dedicated to further diversifying the ways that we can support them. Our grants represent trust in teachers’ professionalism, creativity, and vision, offering flexibility to meet the unique needs of each classroom, with the students remaining the ultimate beneficiaries as they continue to grow and learn in today’s ever-changing world.”

We look forward to introducing you to more 2022 FFT Fellows next Friday!

This month we shipped our 2022 cohort of Fellows branded T-shirts, lanyards, and lapel pins in recognition of their accomplishment and in anticipation of seeing these items again on social media posts throughout the summer. The stylized “A” is the most prominent aspect of our logo, but the image means much more than the first letter of the English alphabet.

Fund for Teachers chose the sextant as our logo because it represents, according to Astronomy.com, “a device descended from antiquity included aboard command modules to assist with guidance and navigation.” Perhaps you recall Jim Lovell, played by Tom Hanks in Apollo 13, using a sextant and stars to navigate safely back to Earth; however, as early as the Phoenicians, people have looked to the stars to navigate land and sea. Again, according to Astronomy.com:

“Sextants measure the angular distance between two different objects — usually distant stars, although on Earth the Sun and Moon can be used as navigational aids as well. Information derived from sextants can be used to identify one’s position on a map or chart and is vitally important when no land is in sight. Sextants were widely adopted after their introduction in the 1700s, as they could be used day or night and operated even aboard a shifting or unstable platform.”

Navigate uncertainties? Works day and night? Vitally important? Operates on a shifting platform?
Sounds like a teacher to us.

That’s why the sextant and associated themes inform our Creed:

Now, when you see images of teachers proudly wearing their swag on our social media posts, we hope you’ll see them as more than grant recipients. Because WE see them as explorers, pioneers and vanguards. And we are proud to call them FFT Fellows.

Enjoy these images of previous Fellows representing around the world and watch for more on our our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds in the coming months. And special thanks to FFT Fellow Julie Valsaint (Wagoner, OK) who shared the top image of the plaque crafted for her by teammate Stephen Biggs (pictured right) after they investigated the effects of water pollutants on local streams, rivers, and lakes, to see how water upstream affects the ocean ecosystem and created a unit on watersheds and conservation to use with Project WET through the nonprofit Blue Thumb.

 

To introduce you to our newest grant recipients, we’ve started Fellow Friday. Last week, we highlighted fellowships focused on Holocaust studies. Seeing the first picture of our Milky Way’s black hole this week made us think of the following Fellows who are looking up this summer with their Fund for Teachers grants…

Click here for a complete list of grant recipients.

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Tun Bhothinard | The Virtual Academy – Chicago
Jennifer Campagna | James G. Blaine Elementary School – Chicago
Morgan Park Academy – Chicago, IL
Experience separately different dark skies communities in the Southwest United States and Northeast United States, documenting the positions of cosmic beings in relation to the Earth, the sun and moon and how Native Americans depended on astronomy in their daily lives, to create libraries of cosmic images that help students connect to theories read in books.

“We, as teachers, find astronomy fascinating, having taken both undergraduate and summer graduate courses in the subject matter. Both have also volunteered at the city’s planetarium education department. A gap that we both have, however, is actually being in the field to dedicate time to study the constellations above. We believe astronomy is one of the most accessible units of study for fifth graders. Whether the student is from a middle class neighborhood school (James G. Blaine Elementary School) on the North Side of Chicago, or part of the very ethnically and socioeconomically diverse Virtual Academy, the wonder of space is available to all: just look up!”

Jennifer Kennedy | College Park High School – Pleasant Hill, CA
Photograph the Southwest landscape (day & night) and also ancient cliff dwellings to document the relationship of First Peoples to the land and demonstrate for career & technical education students how migration & relationship to the land is a common theme in humanity.

“The pandemic has caused many of my students to relocate -I want students to see the patterns of relocation and what drives it in human history. I also want to photograph, both in daylight and astrophotography, how the landscape & the ruins work together. Then, I can use my CTE budget to bring in the Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society to do an evening of star gazing & astrophotography on campus at night.”

Haven Daniels | Perkins Elementary – Boston
Kristen Fitzpatrick | Blackstone Elementary – Boston
Research at observatories and sites across Scotland and Northern England the phenomenon of dark skies to inform a student project that assesses how light pollution affects our city and how they can take action to preserve local dark skies.

“Space science lessons are abstract and disconnected from students’ lived experiences. There is, in general, not much personal experiences for students to draw on. The upshot of this is that students don’t understand why they should
care about what we are trying to teach them. Our learning goal is to move our instruction from research and report style learning about Earth and Space Science to more hands-on, active and empowered lessons that directly address students’
need for non-traditional learning experiences.”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we invest in the most important component of any classroom — the teacher,” said Karen Eckhoff, Executive Director of FFT. “Educators are facing countless challenges every day, and Fund for Teachers is dedicated to further diversifying the ways that we can support them. Our grants represent trust in teachers’ professionalism, creativity, and vision, offering flexibility to meet the unique needs of each classroom, with the students remaining the ultimate beneficiaries as they continue to grow and learn in today’s ever-changing world.”

We look forward to introducing you to more 2022 FFT Fellows next Friday!

 

Today, millions of people received a “Breaking News” alert from The New York Times with the heading: “Over 500 Native American children died at U.S. schools where they were forced to live between 1819 and 1969, an initial federal inquiry found.” This is old news to FFT Fellow John Goodwin, who teaches U.S. History, Native American History, and an interdisciplinary research and writing course at BASIS Phoenix. In March, his book Without Destroying Ourselves: A Century of Native Intellectual Activism for Higher Education was released and this summer he will further his research to increase students’ exposure to diverse primary history sources.

With his Fund for Teachers grant, John will conduct research at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in Washington DC to build two project based learning experiences that raise awareness of Indigenous experiences at American Indian boarding schools and enhance the physical and digital presence of one such site in Phoenix.

“So much of Indigenous history is understandably viewed under a dark shadow of colonialism, with all the violence and dispossession that comes along with it,” wrote John in this blog post. “It can be difficult, especially for young students, to work through a careful study of this history with any sense of optimism left. And yet, if we look closely at the words and actions of Indigenous people themselves, we still see it. We see not only a bare sense of resilience and survival but at times a true optimism and an infectious energy that comes from leaders’ ability to highlight and target shared opportunities for growth within struggle.”

The first phase of John’s fellowship will include documenting content and artifacts at the NMAI and taking advantage of the archival databases at the NMAI Cultural Resource Center in Suitland, MD and the National Archives. Afterwards, he will conduct additional research at Phoenix’s Heard Museum before heading to Fort Lewis College in nearby Durango, CO — a four-year college that once served as an American Indian boarding school.

“Using my catalog of observations, images, narratives from visitors, and archival documents in the subject area, I will curate a large collection of materials that will transform the capstone project experience for my students,” wrote John in his grant proposal. “Specifically, students during the final 5 to 6 weeks of the course will work in groups to develop proposals for action that use these public history sites as models, with the goal of improving the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center, once an American Indian boarding school.”

While today’s news alert elevates once again the tragic experiences of Native American children and their families, John also sees a story of growth and resilience within struggle.

“A lot of the students who went through those schools went on to be leaders in their communities, and in fact in a wide range of American settings, both Native and non-Native spaces,” he said when we reached out to him today. “Often they did so while still maintaining tribal languages and cultural connections. I think the students I teach—and probably most American students—can really learn from those types of stories. I think those stories keep us tapped into what is best and most intriguing about our identity as Americans, without white-washing it or unnecessarily painting it through rose-colored glasses. And for our students here in Phoenix, I see the boarding school site as an often overlooked location that could be highlighted and enhanced as a public history site for students and the wider community.”

Top photograph courtesy of Colorado Public Radio News.

To introduce you to our newest grant recipients, we’ve started Fellow Friday. Last week, we highlighted fellowships focused on math-related learning. In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, today we share the plans of teachers who will pursue learning about the Holocaust this summer with their Fund for Teachers grants…

Click here for a complete list of grant recipients.

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Sandra Burgess & Marymargaret Mineff
Morgan Park Academy – Chicago, IL
Gather materials, impressions, and insights pertaining to the Holocaust across eight European countries to inform the creation of a student-led podcast series for their middle/upper school peers.

“Survivors of a systematic and institutional genocide are passing away, and their stories are being forgotten. However, the perpetration of genocide and intolerance continues throughout our world. It’s the duty of every educational institution, including our own, to teach and remind students of the history so that they, and those who come after them, actively speak and work to prevent such events from happening again.”

Amanda Fulfer | Battle Ground High School – Battle Ground, WA
Join the Seattle Holocaust Center for Humanity‘s expedition to Poland to humanize horrific statistics that lay flat on merely three pages of the textbook for AP World History, World History, Contemporary World History, and AP Human Geography students.

“I firmly believe that seeing things firsthand enhances the practice, pedagogy, and authenticity of a history teacher because I will be able to share personal experiences that bring content to life. The textbook approved by our school contains a scant three pages dedicated to the Holocaust. By weaving my first-hand experience with the stories from history, I will be able to humanize the horrific statistics that lay flat on a textbook page.”

Deb Fullerton | Moorlands Elementary – Kenmore, WA
Accompany Seattle’s Holocaust Center for Humanity on an exploration of Poland’s past and present by connecting its history and people to empower students to become change makers in their communities, nation and world.

“Our state mandates Holocaust Education; however, the bulk of resources are geared toward older students. Furthermore, resources provided are a suggested start and don’t fully address foundational issues around biased attitudes and the apex of the pyramid of hate where genocide occurs. Because of the this fellowship, I can modify current resources to fit my students’ needs while also building additional resources that teachers and students can access.”

Brooke Hopkins | Soddy Daisy High School – Soddy Daisy, TN
Explore cities in Northern and Central Europe that are the settings for two popular graphic novels pertaining to individual experiences of the Holocaust to build a greater understanding of the systematic way the Nazis exterminated more than six million Jews and help students feel connected to the victims, perpetrators, and bystanders of the Holocaust and its terrible place in our history.

“In the wake of so much documentation and variable proof, it is shocking that our current generation of high school students truly do not hold more than a cursory knowledge of the Holocaust and the persecution of the Jews (and other undesirable minority groups). It is also quite shameful that there is a growing number of Holocaust doubters and/or deniers. Great age-appropriate literature, especially graphic novels, create a literary space where students of all reading levels can grow intellectually, emotionally and with empathy in their views of others who differ from themselves within our world.'”

Kelly Anroman, Michael Gozzo & Shelley Sheriden | Derby Middle School – Derby, CT
Research in Amsterdam and Germany the storyline of Anne Frank and World War II to authentically teach the injustices and atrocities that took place so students can learn from them, grow from them, and become better global citizens.

“Our shared goal is to glean a greater understanding of events leading up to, during, and following the Holocaust and World War II. We hope to promote our own sense of empathy and bring our learning back to our students and colleagues. Our goal for our students is to have them be lifelong learners and thinkers long after they leave the classroom and for our students to develop deeper understanding of each other with an empathetic lens.”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we invest in the most important component of any classroom — the teacher,” said Karen Eckhoff, Executive Director of FFT. “Educators are facing countless challenges every day, and Fund for Teachers is dedicated to further diversifying the ways that we can support them. Our grants represent trust in teachers’ professionalism, creativity, and vision, offering flexibility to meet the unique needs of each classroom, with the students remaining the ultimate beneficiaries as they continue to grow and learn in today’s ever-changing world.”

We look forward to introducing you to more 2022 FFT Fellows next Friday!

Just in time for Teacher Appreciation Week, Fund for Teachers announced the names of 600+ public, private and charter school teachers awarded millions in grants for self-designed summer fellowships. By pushing beyond their classrooms to pursue new knowledge and insights, these teacher leaders return to impact classrooms, colleagues, and school communities.

Founded in 2001, our organization this year surpassed
$35 million invested in teacher professional learning & leadership.

Fund for Teachers is nationally unique in that it gives educators the freedom to explore topics related to specific learning gaps and goals; consequently, no two fellowships are the same. This year’s fellowships range from circumventing Iceland with a team of scientists to facilitate students’ understanding of geological processes to attending a conference on fostering safe social and emotional environments in which students can thrive.

A complete list of grant recipients is available here.

The 2022 FFT Fellows who received $1.19 million in grants will be joined by grant recipients from 2019 and 2020 who deferred their grants due to the pandemic.

“Fund for Teachers strives to value, not just appreciate, educators,” said Karen Eckhoff, FFT executive director. “Value connotes merit, courage and virtue, traits evidenced in our Fellows’ grant proposals, then demonstrated on fellowships and, ultimately, applied in the classroom. Now more than ever, it is imperative we validate and invest in this caliber of teacher.”

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Fund for Teachers (FFT) is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to strengthening instruction by investing in outstanding teachers’ self-determined professional growth and development. Since 2001, FFT has invested $35 million in more than 9,100 educators, transforming grants into growth for teachers and their students. In 2021, FFT introduced a follow-up grant for Fellows to collaborate through Innovation Circles focused on topics that facilitate further student impact. Over the past two decades, FFT Fellows have chosen to learn in 170 countries on every continent, with the majority remaining in North America. Visit www.fundforteachers.org for more information.

To introduce you to our newest grant recipients, we’ve started Fellow Friday. Last week, we highlighted fellowships focused on conservation and sustainability of our planet. Today, we’re elevating the itineraries of those counting on math-related learning this summer with their Fund for Teachers grants…

Click here for a complete list of grant recipients.

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Rebecca Janka | Odyssey Leadership Academy – Oklahoma City, OK
Explore homes and countries of both known and undiscussed mathematicians/physicists, observing how their theorems and calculations are related to historical developments of mathematics, to inform a learner-centered class that allows students to critically think through their own lives while engaging with the world around them.

“The study of mathematics has been the historical quest to understand relationships between mankind and the universe, something the traditional model of math education too often misses. However, traditional math education stops at mere calculation, leaving many students to feel frustrated and overwhelmed, missing the beauty and awe inherent in mathematics itself. The purpose of my research is to learn from foundational mathematicians who have shaped the world with their lives and work, to find the wonder they had, and pass on these lessons through my classes.”

Donna Kaiser | Stamford High School – Stamford, CT
Participate in the ASM Materials Camp for Teachers at the University of Maryland to learn methods for making math and core science principles more enticing and relevant to high school chemistry students.

“In my urban high school, we lack resources to have state-of-the-art equipment, so this will provide inexpensive projects and activities to help me as a chemistry teacher ignite student interest, bring curricula to life, and show practical applications of materials in students’ everyday lives. During the camp we’ll work with metal, ceramics, polymers and composites to develop projects to bring back to the classroom.”

Shannon Mullins & Sandy Osborne
Coffenberry Middle School – Myrtle Creek, OR
Embark on a math quest to sites in New York and England associated with the history and importance of math to make the subject and its application interesting and meaningful to rural, low-income students.

“Most of our students struggle greatly with math and are living with caregivers who struggle greatly with math. It is common to have repeated conversations with students about why math is important, necessary, and interesting. The impact of this this fellowship will help students switch from the perspective ‘Math is something I have to do that is meaningless and torturous’ to ‘Math has always been used by humans to find a pattern and make life easier.'”

Nora Abbott, Jordan Alley, Jenna Gudmunson, Molly Fredrickson-Leonard & Julia Vaughan
Invest Collegiate Imagine Charter School – Asheville, NC
Complete multisensory math training at the Siena School in Oakton, VA, to gain knowledge of cutting-edge practices that give students fun and rewarding experiences and provides real-world practice to prepare them for successful lives.

“Our students feel constantly defeated in the general education classroom when faced with concepts that their peers understand easily. While our team is very well-versed in state of the art instructional practices to engage students in remedial reading and writing, we lack equal training in hands-on math strategies. By learning a system that has been found to be successful in teaching students reading and writing and applying it to math, we know our students will be engaged and more likely to love what they are doing and persevere. By also presenting them with grade-level concepts in a concrete way, we will be giving them access to understanding and academic success in the general education classroom.”

 

 

 

 

Philip Wisler | BPS English High School – Jamaica Plain, MA
Embark on a month-long road trip documenting sites across Canada and the United States through biweekly TikTok videos aligned with math problems to demonstrate how creativity and curiosity can reveal meaningful connections between mathematics and everyday life.

“Too often, my students don’t see why math is relevant after simple procedures are mastered. For this reason, math teachers like myself may struggle to find truly meaningful connections that can inspire students in a typical math lesson. To change this inequality (pun intended), I plan on harnessing social media, starting with super-popular platform TikTok, to provide a new avenue for student learning and participation.”

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we invest in the most important component of any classroom — the teacher,” said Karen Eckhoff, Executive Director of FFT. “Educators are facing countless challenges every day, and Fund for Teachers is dedicated to further diversifying the ways that we can support them. Our grants represent trust in teachers’ professionalism, creativity, and vision, offering flexibility to meet the unique needs of each classroom, with the students remaining the ultimate beneficiaries as they continue to grow and learn in today’s ever-changing world.”

We look forward to introducing you to more 2022 FFT Fellows next Friday!

Last year The Autism Society of America changed April’s designation of Autism Awareness Month to Autism Acceptance Month. “Awareness is knowing that somebody has autism. Acceptance is when you include (a person with autism) in your activities,” said the organization’s president and CEO Christopher Banks. That’s precisely the premise behind the fellowship of three Connecticut middle school teachers. We asked Kristen Gallagher, Dwaine Vaudrey and Liz Dubreuil (Ledyard Middle School – Gales Ferry, CT) to share more about the motivation behind their fellowship this summer, which COVID postponed since initially receiving their grant in 2020.

Q: For middle schoolers, acceptance can be as elusive as the next TikTok dance. What made you think that biking could unite this age group and, specifically, students who have Autism Spectrum Disorders and those who do not?

A: For many of our students, not just those with spectrum disorders, typical team sports don’t work for them.  That in itself is unifying.  Everyone in the bike club belongs to a team with the goal of personal growth.   Kids see more in common than differences.

Additionally, the practice groupings are based on skill sets which allow for everyone to have a starting point based on their comfort level.  Challenges students with ASD face are well camouflaged during mountain biking because the overall skill sets of participants are so diverse that no one particular individual stands out from the rest.  Overall, the participants are all having such a good time challenging themselves and enjoying the mountain biking experience that a student’s impairments go unnoticed by their peers.

Q: Five years ago, you collaborated with a non-profit cycling organization to create the school’s cycling club and today it’s the largest in the state with more than 60 members, the majority of whom are special education and/or “504 students” who have a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity.” How has this outlet impacted these students?

A: Anxiety, inattention, feelings of failure, and academic disabilities are obstacles many students with autism associate with school. These obstacles prevent them from crossing peer/friend barriers and taking risks. During cycling, those obstacles are removed and replaced with opportunities for new friendships and an appreciation of their uniqueness. Students who have not felt success in other organized sports come to cycling and are invested in their team and love to ride.

Socially, interactions between students in our social/emotional and autism classrooms and their typical peers happen organically on the bike trails. One example is when an academically gifted student struggled with a log on the trail; the student with autism was the one teaching and demonstrating; mentoring roles were reversed. Another example are twin girls who on the team who have difficultly speaking in specific social settings. After a race one of the girls pulled me aside and said she wore a shirt under her bike jersey that read “I love my team!” Her sister wore a special shirt under her jersey that read “Best Day Ever!” They take risks on the trails and it carries over to the classroom.

Q: What was the catalyst behind your Fund for Teachers proposal?

A: We are fortunate to have so many bikes for students to ride, but the maintenance of bikes has presented a significant challenge for us. There are often times when bikes need repairs, and we have to transport bikes to our local bike shop. This leaves a rider without a bike. The shop mechanic comes to our school when we host races, but there is a greater need for repairs and maintenance on a near-daily basis. There have also been times when we needed to change flat tires or put a chain back on a freewheel to get a rider back on the bike. These basic jobs piqued the interest of several students and this sparked the idea for students to take over basic maintenance. Our special education students who might not feel comfortable on the trails could be part of the team by keeping the bikes in working order.

Q: Describe what you and two colleagues will be pursuing this summer with your $10,000 grant.

A: We want to learn and then teach the students how to repair bikes. This will expand the cycling club to students who may not ride but like to fix things and work with their hands. The Principal of our school would like to expand our cycling repair into the school day for students on the autism spectrum and in our social-emotional classrooms. A larger plan is for a winter maintenance club for all students, a special needs opportunity for students to help us with bike and helmet cleaning and inventory, and a prevocational option for students during the school day. The FFT grant is allowing our team to go to the Barnett Bike Institute in Colorado Springs to attend a week-long bike assembly and maintenance class. There we’ll become certified for basic assembly and maintenance of bikes.

Q: Then what?

A: Once we learn the basics, we will be able to teach our students how to initially tune-up and adjust our fleet of bikes. This addresses our immediate need for bike repair and maintenance of our fleet. On non-riding days, the “mechanic team” will teach a small group of interested students predetermined maintenance skills. The greatest impact on students would be authentic learning for an authentic purpose. Students who in the past may not have connected with their peers would learn a useful and valuable skill to help their peers.

Another part of the plan is to add two or three bike stands into special education and general education classrooms by the spring of the next school year. Students are naturally curious and will ask questions about the stands and bikes; student-driven learning can occur. Some students on the autism spectrum or who have emotionally impactful obstacles to classroom participation can participate in cycling maintenance for the school. Our Principal envisions cycling maintenance creating prevocational opportunities and ways to make valuable contributions and connections beyond the classroom.

Q: How do you see this fellowship ultimately impacting your community?

A: The learning and teaching will not end with middle school. Part of our long-term plan is to have former middle school “wrenches” in high school come back to support our new middle school “wrenches.” This cycle will keep our program sustainable by addressing our bike maintenance needs. We will tap into our high school mentors as a resource and role models. Inclusion of high school students will create a cycle of students who become mentors and support our sustainability.

The ultimate community outreach and connection will be with a bike fix-it-shop. Students will repair donated bikes and give them back to children in the community without a safe bike to ride.  Receiving this grant is the starting point for actualizing the possibilities.

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To learn more about the Ledyard Middle School Bike Club and how a Fund for Teachers grant will strengthen its’ success, listen to this episode of Fund for Teachers: The Podcast.

We’re in the middle of Arab American History Month, but Karina Escajeda‘s impact on education is just getting started. We asked her to share how her fellowship completing Arabic language & cultural immersion in Egypt informed her career trajectory that led to her work with the Curacao Ministry of Education through the US State Department…

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My 2019 FFT fellowship to Dahab, Egypt, was built around my role as a Maine K-12 English Language Learner (ELL) Specialist. At the time, I had a professional role as an ELL Coordinator at the middle and high school in Augusta, where all of my students and their families spoke Arabic. I was also a board member of the Capitol Area New Mainers Project, a non-profit dedicated to helping New Mainers (primarily Iraqi, Syrian, and Afghani).  I had been working with language learners in Maine, California and Japan, in both private and public settings, for my entire career.  Additionally, as a Spanish speaker myself, I felt that the experience of learning a language and participating in a cultural immersion would be a way of connecting more personally to the central Maine Arabic-speaking community in general.

In Egypt I connected with The Futures School of Dahab and studied Arabic here for five hours a day, then practiced in the community for 2-3 more.  I also had the chance to explore the pyramids along the Nile River, climb Mt. Sinai in the middle of the night to see the sun rise, and experience Bedouin culture and cuisine. While classroom drills were a big part of my Arabic instruction, my clearest memories and sharpest language retention came from interacting with people while shopping, navigating the city, and getting to know the culture and music of Egypt. The entire experience renewed my drive to make sure that all language instruction is context-based and experience driven.

During my fellowship, I was fortunate to meet up with 2019 FFT Fellow Ryan Clapp, who pursued Arabic immersion in Alexandria, Egypt, and kept an incredible blog of his experience. Although my Arabic did not become fluent in just 6 weeks (of course!), I returned to Maine with more confidence in my ability to present myself in initial introductions in the language, and the families that I work with were genuinely appreciative of the effort — and kindly encouraging about the progress that I made.

The fellowship opened my eyes, again, to my interest in creating cross-cultural connections on both a local AND global level. The meticulous effort that I put into the FFT  application was transferable to my Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching application, which resulted in an opportunity in Greece to study effective refugee integration into learning communities and neighborhoods.

After the Fulbright project, I became the program director for Capital Area New Mainers Project, putting my teaching expertise, fellowship learning and project management skills into practice in the non-profit sphere. Once out of the classroom and working from home as the program director, it finally became possible to take on a role that I dreamed for decades:  being an English Language Specialist with the US State Department.  In January of 2021, I took on a contract to work with the US Consulate in Curacao, the Curacao Chamber of Commerce, and the Ministry of Education in Curacao to create the curriculum for a pilot program in the country using English (rather than Dutch or Papiamentu) as the academic language of instruction. I have developed and edited curriculum for preK through grade three, and the school is slated to open the first preK classes in August of 2023. I will remain on as a consultant for the school opening, as well as the training of teachers and administrators on the new program.

TESOL professionals who are interested in knowing more about the EL Specialist Program with the US State Department can find information here.

Looking back, I see that everything is connected. It is SO important for teachers to be engaged in rigorous inquiry that makes us experience frustration, but in a joyful way because it is learning that WE have chosen to do, not that has been assigned to us as part of our official duties. Students learn from people that they LOVE. That love only comes through authenticity, and teachers can’t be authentic unless we are giving parts of ourselves that are REAL — our love for learning is reignited through funding to pursue our passions.

Fund for Teachers renewed my faith that there ARE organizations in our country that see teachers as educated professionals who know themselves and their communities well enough to be effective advocates for their own needs. Equally as vital, I realized through FFT that I AM a capable expert educator who could contribute meaningfully to my hometown, region, and now — the world.

Over the course of my career, I have observed the wide variety of background experiences that students bring to school and how those experiences impact learning. The more confident and savvy learners tend to get the lions’ share of the time, resources, and attention; these same students tend to be from stable homes rarely impacted by poverty and trauma. In my class, every student has a voice, but how do I ensure that they are equally heard and heeded?

Teachers all over the United States are struggling to create and implement working definitions for concepts such as equity, equality, motivation, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Participating in Fund For Teachers’ Innovation Circle on equity and collaborating with my “fellow” Fellows to elevate every students’ voice brought these definitions sharply into focus for me.

I used my Innovation Circle grant to attend the International Baccalaureate workshop on Social Emotional Learning, which incorporated global perspectives, international mindedness, and equity mindsets. During the two virtual summer seminars, I had an aha moment – the more reticent students didn’t lack the materials or time they needed to successfully complete a 5th Grade Exhibition project, but the confidence that they COULD.

After this fellowship, I now understand that one of the greatest factors in helping students achieve equity is helping them develop self-efficacy.

Students from poverty, trauma, and troubled backgrounds often lack the self-efficacy (the belief that they can do a task) to be successful in school, and, by extension, in life. Parent contacts confirmed this and student surveys bore it out. Therefore, I am now focusing more on the development of student self-efficacy in the process of teaching. I have a new perspective on the balance of process and product, and intensive efforts devoted to building student self-efficacy is transforming a once-difficult class into a one filled with successful, positive, motivated students. (see their work below)

A few takeaways from my seminars and group work with Fellows:

• “Equity is the provision of personalized resources needed for all individuals to reach common goals:  the goals and expectations are the same for all students, but the supports needed to achieve those goals depends on the students’ needs” (Latta, 2019).  The supports typically consist of providing students with materials, supplies, time, personnel, and opportunities, all of which are indeed important for students to succeed.
• Inequity in education has been traditionally associated with groups of students who have suffered from discrimination due to their race, ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, class, gender, or disability.  I contend that the true inequity lies in a student’s belief in self, based on the experiences and treatment s/he has received. Without belief in self, no amount of materials, supplies, time, personnel, or opportunities can assure success.
• True equity, that which resides in the heart, requires intangible, elusive, but very real  self-efficacy.  Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in his/her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments (Bandura, 1997).   Self-efficacy reflects an individual’s confidence in his/her ability to exert control over his/her own motivation, behavior, and social environment.  All human experiences – the goals people strive for, the amount of time and energy that is expanded towards meeting the goals, and the likelihood of attaining certain levels of behavioral performance – are all rooted in self-efficacy.

• Self-efficacy focuses on “doing” and self-esteem focuses on “being.” Self-efficacy is the belief that one is able to do and self-esteem is a general feeling of one’s worth as a human being. The self-system is comprised of all of these elements, which manifest themselves in attitudes, abilities, and cognitive skills.  The self-system also plays a major role in how people perceive situations and how they behave in response to different situations (Bandura, 1977).
• Equity in education must include developing self-efficacy in all students.  It does not matter how much “stuff” or time or opportunity a student has.  If s/he does not believe in his/her capacity to execute the necessary behaviors, success will always be out of reach.

The good news is that self-efficacy can be nurtured in four ways:

1. 1. Experiencing mastery experiences;
   2. Witnessing other people successfully completing a task;
   3. Being persuaded through positive verbal encouragement; and
   4. Developing psychological responses by learning how to minimize stress and elevate mood when facing difficult or challenging tasks.

More good news: 94% of my fifth graders are participating in Exhibition, compared with 75% in past years. The IB Fifth Grade Exhibition is scheduled for May 19. We started work on September 2, and we will continue to move forward with Exhibition projects with the 32 kids who are participating. Self-efficacy work is woven into the process, and also with the two students who chose not to participate in Exhibition. The equity portion is having them BELIEVE that they can do it, so that they WILL do it.

Caroline Belden, author and social justice advocate, explains it this way, “Equality is leaving the door open for anyone who has the means to approach it.  Equity is ensuring there is a pathway to the door for those who need it.”

As teachers, we have the power to create that pathway for our students. Teachers want all of our students to succeed, to become productive citizens, and to become lifelong learners.  Equity in the classroom, developed through self-efficacy, will help all students to succeed.

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Janet Key is a three-time FFT Fellow: In 2011, she attended the Clarice Smith National Teacher Institute at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC;  in 2014, she returned to Washington to participate in the Smithsonian Science Education Academy for Physical Sciences (pictured); and in 2021, she received an Innovation Circle Grant to virtually attend the three-day International Baccalaureate conference titled “Your Exhibition” to develop fifth graders research and presentation strategies on a transdisciplinary theme, a required component of the IB Primary Years Programme. Janet is a proud Milwaukee Public Schools teacher since 1985, and retirement is on a distant horizon.  She currently teaches at Lowell International Elementary School, in kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms.

 

What are Innovation Circles?   

Innovation Circles is a new grant program at Fund for Teachers (FFT) designed to stimulate and enrich teacher innovation. Through self-designed learning experiences and virtual Circle meetings, Fellows have the funds and collaborative peer support to design outside of the box. 

What do Lead Fellows Do? 

As a Lead Fellow for an Innovation Circle, you will guide Circle participants (also Fellows) along a path to design unique classroom-based innovations. These innovations should be grounded in students’ needs and will demand a certain amount of testing and risk taking. This means you will need to create time and space for participants to build community, share, refine and problem solve. While you may have deep expertise in the Circle topic, your role is that of facilitator, not instructor.  

Why Lead Fellows?   

Fellows with experience in the Circle topic and who have worked to implement changes in their own classroom are uniquely qualified to support others. In addition, Lead Fellowship opportunities give Fellows access to teacher leadership experiences that they may not have in their schools.  

The Details: 

• Build virtual community with 10-15 Fellows in your circle.  
• Plan and facilitate monthly meetings, virtually. Some meeting materials will be provided.  
• Collaborate with FFT to identify a key common ‘text’ for the Circle topic.  
• Monitor Fellows’ progress to inform Circle meeting design.  
• Communicate with Fellows between Circle meetings to answer questions, communicate meeting logistics etc.  
• Collaborate with other Lead Fellows to problem solve and navigate Circle leadership.  
• Demonstrate expertise with the topic through ‘text’ selection, strategic questioning and feedback on Fellow’s work. The topics determined by Fellow interest, are outlined here. 
• Use Fund for Teachers for support in Fellow learning and grant administration. NOTE: FFT will provide administrative support and Fellow communications related to technology, grant funds and grant deliverables.  
• Lead Fellows will be paid a $1500 stipend. 

How Might Your Time be Divided?

The Ideal Candidate:

• Believes that teachers can and should stretch and try new things in their classrooms – that they are designers and creators. 
• Is interested in growing their skills as an adult learning facilitator.  
• Is passionate about the Circle topic. 
• Has experience teaching and/or facilitating online. 
• Has  approximately 30-40 hours to spend on this project between April, 2022 and January, 2023. 
• Is currently an educator and FFT Fellow. 

Interested in applying? Complete the application, here.

Have questions about the position? Reach out to Liza Eaton, Director of Programs, The Ramsden Project.