The Wall Street Journal recently shared an article titled “It’s Never Too Late,” referring to how the “multiple cognitive peaks throughout our lives, and the talents and passions that we have to offer can emerge across a range of personal circumstances.” Such is the case for Larry Shortell, special education teacher at Explorations Charter School in Winstead, CT.

After serving in the US Navy, Larry became a SCUBA diving instructor, then earned a CDA Certification and worked in a daycare while earning his B.S. in Special Education at the University of Southern Florida. Next, he completed an MS in Education from Cambridge College and earned a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate and taught in Laos. Teaching has since taken him to classrooms in Florida, Hawaii, Alaska and, now, to the island of Bonaire as a Fund for Teachers Fellow.

Under the guidance of a university professor who specializes in ichthyology and the marine environment, Larry leaves next week to conduct in-depth, underwater research documenting the cruise industry’s impact on climate change. He will then use his findings to create science curriculum for special education and Adventure Education students, as well as members of the school’s Exotic, Endangered, or Extinct Animals Club and Environmental Concerns Club.

“I am a high school special education teacher (grades 9-12) in a school whose mission is to cultivates a positive attitude toward life-long learning in an experiential, non-traditional setting,” said Larry. “This fellowship will help me create multi-sensory, high interest learning for special and regular education students, as well as a mixture of students in the clubs that I lead. This approach should level the playing field for the special education students while simultaneously engaging their more advanced peers.”

Just as the article suggests, Larry designed his fellowship to expand upon his 20-year career as a special education teacher and also his passion for underwater conservation. Four years ago, the cruise ship industry descended upon Bonaire, just as the Council of International Educational Exchange’s research station closed. Larry plans to generate data that bridge resulting gaps in Bonaire’s sustainability model and establish protocols for the other Caribbean island’s reef systems.

Back at school, his impacts are geared toward modeling for students an understanding of education and life-long learning that involves the synthesis of experiences and knowledge.

“I want my students to understand that everything we learn and do in life can be used to construct a world view that incorporates balance and wonder,” said Larry. “I want them to see that effort and education can lead to adventures unimagined when we begin on a path of exploration.”

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Larry is the author of Summers Off: The Worldwide  Adventures of a School Teacher and Summers On: The Global Exploration of an Educator. You can also enjoy his nature photography here.

Alan is one of only two non-tribe members ever invited to the Nimkish Tribe’s Big House

Kindergartners at John M. Moriarty Elementary in Norwich, CT, sit on carpet squares in a circle, passing a stuffed turtle around and saying one nice thing about their class. The activity is in response to one student showing a lack of respect for their teacher, Alan Reichle; it is also modeling the Kwakwaka’wakw tribe‘s restorative circle Alan witnessed during his fellowship on Vancouver Island. And soon, students throughout Connecticut will learn this skill as part of a new curriculum Alan developed to help students develop their identity and impact the community.

Alan chose to research those living on Vancouver Island because of the resident tribes’ successful amalgamation of histories and traditions. Fifty years ago, seven tribes that originally lived inland were forced onto this land by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who torched their homes and farms and stole their artifacts. Nearly 150,000 children were sent to residential schools to enculturate them as “Canadians.” (The government destroyed the final such school two months before Alan arrived on his fellowship.) In the face of colonization efforts, disparate tribes unified as one (the Kwakwaka’wakw), maintaining unique attributes while furthering their efforts to survive and thrive.

The logo for Alan’s new wellness curriculum

“My time spent with the First Nation tribes in British Columbia changed the course of my life and career,” said Alan who, before his fellowship, taught second grade. Now he’s the lead special education teacher and promoting with his students wellness and collaboration, like the tribes taught him. To do so, he’s collaborating with a superintendent of schools and the Mohegan and Mashaneucket-beuuot tribes which are constructing a casino nearby. He created a curriculum and named it after the otter, an animal known for its protective nature of family. “Otter” is also the nickname given him by the Nimkish tribe in recognition of his intention to protect its history and culture with students.

For now, Alan’s K-1 students continue using the restorative circle to talk about, not pass blame on, one’s individual impact on the group. Additionally, they emulate First Tribes’ pride of heritage by researching their own, expanding students’ appreciation of their peers from Tibet, China, Cambodia, Africa and three First Nations tribes near the school.

“Everyone I met on Vancouver Island is connected and they give back to one another,” said Alan. “In our political climate, this is a great example that no matter what, we can all come together and learn something new and great every day.”

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Alan holds a Bachelor in Science and Elementary Education and a Masters in Special Education. His teaching philosophy is a hybrid of new age thinking, old school values, and positive kid-center learning, all while having as much fun as he and his students can have each and every day. He’s also a fifth generation Connecticut farmer and integrated aspects of this heritage into his new Otter curriculum.

We received this note from Lana Greenawald last week after she returned from her fellowship. Inspired by her work and her words, we’re pleased to share it with you.

To the Fund for Teachers team:

 

I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for the opportunity to study the Spanish language and Mexican culture at the Spanish Language Institute for Teachers in Cuernavaca, Mexico, through a Fund for Teachers grant.

 

During my five-week immersive fellowship, I lived with a host family, attended Spanish classes 30 hours per week, toured local schools and important cultural sites, met local teachers and constantly interacted with people in Spanish.

 

English learners with disabilities are an underserved population in public schools. I am especially honored to have received a Fund for Teachers grant so I may work to change this. My improved Spanish language skills and understanding of Mexican culture will enhance my culturally- and linguistically-responsive assessment and treatment of this unique population.

 

I am also confident that my fellowship experiences will help me to be a more inclusive educator as I have improved my ability to communicate with Spanish-speaking families of students with disabilities. Additionally, the grant allowed me to purchase three speech-language pathology professional textbooks about issues specific to assessing English learners with disabilities and an additional 21 private Spanish lessons to continue my studies following my international fellowship.

 

Thank you again for an unparalleled learning experience that will impact my work with English learners with disabilities throughout my career.

 

Yours sincerely,
Lana Greenawald
Speech-Language Pathologist
Margaret Ross Elementary & Hopewell Elementary – Aliquippa, PA

Lana is a speech-language pathologist for the Hopewell Area School District in Pittsburgh. She has served students with disabilities in the public school for five years and was previously awarded the Vira I. Heinz Scholarship for Women in Global Leadership, which funded a learning opportunity in France.  Before school begins, Lana will speak to the district’s special education department about her experience living in a non-English speaking town in Mexico for five weeks, the power of home language use in instruction, and her experience visiting an inspiring local special education school for people with Down’s syndrome. She plans to serve as a resource for the department and students with communication disorders for years to come.