 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE N.R. #179, 5/11/00 Date: May 11, 2000
TEACHER SELECTED FOR FULBRIGHT PROGRAM Jim Amaral, fifth grade teacher at Bennett Elementary School, has been selected as a Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholar. He will participate in a three-week study visit to Japan from November 12 through December 2, 2000 under the auspices of the Fulbright Memorial Fund (FMF) Teacher Program. The FMF Teacher Program is fully funded by the government of Japan to honor the memory and ideals of the late Senator J. William Fulbright. The study visit is a professional development opportunity designed to increase knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture. Teachers first meet with Japanese government officials and educators in Tokyo. They also visit Tokyo schools, museums, and historic landmarks, and spend ten days a visiting a city outside of Tokyo. As teachers visit local schools and teachers' colleges, they will interact with Japanese teachers, students, and parents. The highlight of the study visit is a short homestay with a Japanese family. The program concludes with debriefing sessions in Tokyo where all teachers share their experiences and insights. Each Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholar is required to design a plan that will allow him/her to directly or indirectly apply the cross-cultural experience in his/her home school and community. Amaral's proposed plan includes giving grade-level specific workshops for the students of Bennett Elementary School that will focus on the customs and lifestyles, past and present, of the Japanese people. Related objectives of the Prince William County Schools Curriculum Plan will be integrated into these workshops wherever possible. Amaral also plans to develop specific materials and lesson plans that second, fourth, and fifth-grade teachers of Prince William County Schools may use as part of their classroom lessons. After developing the materials and lessons, Amaral plans to offer an inservice training opportunity for county elementary school teachers. This year, approximately 600 participants were selected to participate in the FMF Program. Selected participants come from all fifty states of the U.S. and the District of Columbia. They must be employed as full-time teachers or administrators at primary or secondary level schools (grades 1-12). Since its initiation in 1997, the FMF Teacher Program has sent 1,700 U.S. educators to Japan. ###
|