Andover Teaches Teachers Across the Globe

ANDOVER — Andover High School recently hosted 21 teachers from around the world as part of a UMass Lowell-sponsored, six-week program aimed at enhancing their teaching skills and increasing their knowledge of the United States, according to a UMass Lowell press release.

The Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) provides international teachers with opportunities to develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills and increase knowledge about the United States, the release states.

The 21 high school teachers hail from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Estonia, Ghana, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Mongolia, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The teachers arrived at the UMass Lowell campus on Jan. 27 and left on March 13.

A.J. Angulo, a professor in UMass Lowell’s Graduate School of Education, received a $205,508 grant from the U.S. State Department to fund the program.

“This exciting global-education program brings a tremendous amount of diversity to our campus and local education community, and provides authentic, transformative and experiential learning,” he said.

While the benefits to the university and local school community are immediate during the six-week program Angulo's long-term goal is to build lasting, meaningful relationships around the world – one teacher at a time.

“The global challenges before us recognize no borders and require international solutions. Whether it is a crisis in public health like Ebola, in the environment or in international politics, isolation is not an option,” said Angulo. “Education is one of our best hopes for organizing the world community to effectively respond to these kinds of challenges.

“Philosopher William James once said that we need ‘a moral equivalent to war,’ that we need to focus our energies on building constructive relationships to prevent war. International education programs like TEA provide a means to build such relationships,” Angulo added, noting that the program provides opportunities to increase awareness of opportunities and needs that exist in other parts of the world. “We learn from them about their way of life and they learn from us about ours.”

The teachers selected for the TEA program represent some of the very best from their home countries, said Angulo. The U.S. Department of State and its partner IREX, which administers the program, vetted all of the participants, who participated in a rigorous yearlong application process before being selected.

That process included interviews at U.S. embassies, along with providing evidence of exemplary educational leadership, lesson plans and letters of recommendation. More than 1,100 educators from around the world competed for only 160 TEA Fellow openings in the U.S. this year, including the 21 at UMass Lowell.

"We are all very excited to welcome the TEA Fellows,” said Anita Greenwood, dean of the Graduate School of Education.

“Education faculty and K-12 teachers recognize the enormous value of learning from colleagues from other countries and gaining broader cultural understandings."

The teachers participated in professional development workshops taught by UMass Lowell faculty, participated in field experience in Andover and Chelmsford school districts, and enjoyed cultural excursions in the New England area.

Courtesy photo provided by UMass Lowell.