August 27, 2014

International teachers to visit Claremont for six-week study program

Eighteen middle and high school teachers from around the world will visit Claremont Graduate University (CGU) this fall for a six week program designed to help them sharpen their classroom skills and learn about the United States.

This will be the fourth consecutive year CGU has served as a host university for the U.S. Department of State’s Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) program.

“Put simply, we’re thrilled,” said DeLacy Ganley, director of the Teacher Education Program in CGU’s School of Educational Studies. “The program is totally in-line with our goal to prepare globally aware and culturally relevant educators.”

The 18 TEA fellows will come from Bangladesh, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jordan, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Russia, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Zambia. Fifteen are English/EFL teachers and three are social studies teachers.

They will arrive at CGU on Sept. 19 and stay until Nov. 3, 2014.

The TEA program strives to help participating teachers develop expertise in their teaching subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge of the USA. CGU’s TEA Program also aims to develop the fellows’ intercultural competence, promote social justice, and cultivate global understanding.

In addition to attending workshops and courses organized by CGU’s Teacher Education Program, the TEA fellows will lead discussions and work in classrooms in nearby public schools.

They will give presentations about their home countries at Sycamore Elementary School in Claremont and partner with American teachers from Claremont High School, El Roble Intermediate School, Montclair High School, Pomona High School, Palomares Health Academy, and Upland High School.

Other activities include:

• Cultural visits to Santa Monica, the LA County Fair, Disneyland, Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum, and Hollywood.
• Time with a Friendship Family, a local family who has volunteered to include the fellows in their family life over the durations of the fellows’ stay.
• Time to interact with faculty from the Claremont Colleges.
• Free time to explore and learn independently. TEA is co-sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and IREX. Ganley designed CGU’s 2014 TEA Program. Kristen Baldridge is the program’s director of operations.

About CGU’s School of Educational Studies

Based at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California, the school is one of the top schools of education in California. In addition to its Teacher Education Programs, the School of Educational Studies offers PhD and masters degrees in education with emphases in: teaching, learning, and culture; education policy, evaluation, and reform; higher education/student affairs; special education; and urban educational leadership.