A group of city teachers will travel the world this summer, bringing more than just souvenirs back to their students.
Fund for Teachers, a national nonprofit awarding teacher grants for professional development, is partnering with the Asheville City Schools Foundation to provide seven fellowships.
The fellows will travel to three different continents over the summer, then work as a cohort throughout the following school year to bring their global experiences back to students in Asheville classrooms.
“As a longtime first grade teacher, I know how open my students’ hearts and minds are at age 6, and I feel there is a small window of opportunity during this year we spend together to plant the seeds of tolerance and curiosity,” said Isaac Dickson teacher Patti Evans, who will travel to Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
“I want to learn how I can best give my students a view of the world outside of their own, how to make them feel as though they have an insider view to a new and different culture, and ultimately, to help them see their own culture differently.”
The teachers will build a range of experiences, from studying the astronomy and geology of a Chilean desert to observing early child care in Mozambique.
This marks the first year Asheville teachers were eligible for the Fund for Teachers grant, though the City Schools Foundation has awarded fellowships to more than 80 teachers in the city district to pursue professional development and action research across the country.
