Wayland Union Middle School sixth grade science teacher Lori Howell, was selected into the highly prestigious Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program.

The Fulbright program is a year-long professional learning opportunity and short-term exchange for elementary, middle and high school educators from the United States to develop skills to prepare students for a competitive global economy. Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms equips educators to bring an international perspective to their schools through targeted training, experience abroad, and global collaboration.

Howell was one of 73 teachers nationwide and one of only three from Michigan to be selected.

Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms participate in a rigorous, semester-long online course focused on best practices in global education; gather for an in-person professional development workshop in Washington, D.C.; and travel abroad for two to three weeks to immerse themselves in another country’s culture and education system. Fellows create a global education guide that serves as a resource in their local community to share the skills, experiences, and resources they have developed throughout the program.

Howell will travel to India this summer for two to three weeks to experience the country’s history, education system, and culture. She will have the opportunity to observe classrooms, interact with administrators, and teach or co-teach their own lessons with international educators who have spent a considerable amount of time on an exchange program in the United States, and thus are familiar with the U.S. education system.

Howell’s classroom students are learning about various issues or problems happening around the globe and how they relate to us locally.  For example, they have studied things such as declining bee populations in the world and how bat species are dying from excessive heat in Australia.  Her students planted a community garden filled with plants that attract bees and promote pollination. They also built bat houses to place around the City of Wayland.

The Fulbright program is one of several United States Cultural Exchange programs with the goal to improve intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. The program was founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946 and offers nearly 470 teaching, research or combination teaching/research awards in over 125 countries. It is funded through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department.