International High School Teachers on Campus Until March 18

Quick Facts

This is the second year for the program. Education faculty member A.J. Angulo authored the $177,070 grant proposal to renew the first federally-funded cultural and educational exchange program of its kind at Winthrop.

Fourteen countries are represented, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Georgia, Honduras, India, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Romania, Russia and South Africa.

A.J. Angulo

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Winthrop University is hosting 17 high school teachers from around the world this semester through the U.S. State Department's Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA).

This is the second year for the program. Education faculty member A.J. Angulo authored the $177,070 grant proposal to renew the first federally-funded cultural and educational exchange program of its kind at Winthrop. The funds will once again support a series of professional development workshops, field experiences in Rock Hill high schools, and cultural exchange activities on and off campus.

"We're very excited to be working with another cohort of outstanding international teachers," said Angulo. "This exchange allows us to learn as much from them as they do from us. Anytime you get the chance to bring the world to Winthrop, as this program does, everyone benefits."

Fourteen countries are represented, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Georgia, Honduras, India, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Romania, Russia and South Africa.

The teachers arrived Feb. 1 and will depart March 18. During their six-week stay, they will take customized workshops from faculty in the Richard W. Riley College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences.

The workshops will explore such topics as teacher leadership, advanced educational psychology and assessment, technology and discipline-specific methods. In addition to these workshop, cultural seminars have been added to their schedule to enhance their understanding of the area and region.

Each international teacher will also be paired with a Rock Hill high school teacher for all-day, field-based experiences. These pairings will give local teachers opportunities to exchange best practices with international educators.

When not in classes or in the field, the international teachers will participate in cultural exchange activities. They will learn about American life and culture through day and weekend excursions. These will include day trips to such sites as the Levine Museum of the New South and Charlotte's Discovery Place as well as weekend excursions to Charleston, S.C. and Asheville, N.C.

While on campus, the teachers will share about their culture and country of origin through Winthrop cultural events programming arranged by Teaching Fellow's Director Susanne Okey who is the logistics coordinator for the international teacher cohort. Okey applied for and received a Global Learning Initiative grant to fund the on-campus exchanges between the high school teachers and Winthrop students, faculty and staff.

"The TEA program provides wonderful opportunities for Winthrop's students, faculty, and staff, as well as our P-12 school partners who will host their school visits. I know that the TEA Fellows will also learn from us in ways that will greatly enrich their classrooms, schools and communities.That is certainly our aim," said Jennie Rakestraw, dean of the College of Education.

The U.S. State Department's Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program is administered by IREX and will complement Winthrop's Global Learning Initiative and recent federally-funded NetSCOPE, NetLEAD and WISE/STEM programs.

For more information, contact Angulo at anguloa@winthrop.edu.

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