For the Media

Educators Selected for Immersive Fellowship Around Teaching Global Competency

Educators Selected for Immersive Fellowship Around Teaching Global Competency

A new class of 50 public school educators from 45 states will participate in The NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship next year. A year-long professional learning experience focused on educating and empowering students for global citizenship, the fellowship will enable fellows to enhance their knowledge and skills to bring global competency into their school communities and help students thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.

The 2023 fellows represent the depth and breadth of the teaching profession in urban, rural, and suburban communities. They work at elementary, middle and high schools and teach across a wide array of subjects including visual and performing arts, English as a second language, social studies, special education, and science. Nearly a third of the fellows are teachers of color and over half teach at schools with a high proportion of students from low-income families. The diversity of this cohort provides a tremendous opportunity for the group to learn from each other.

“The NEA Foundation is proud to support educators across the country who recognize the importance of helping students develop the knowledge and dispositions to understand the world and their capacity to influence it. By cultivating global competency, these educators are preparing students to thrive in an increasingly interconnected global world. We are honored to support these exceptional educators in their continued professional learning and growth,” said Sara A. Sneed, President and CEO of The NEA Foundation. “For more than a decade, this fellowship has had a powerful influence on classrooms, schools, and communities. We look forward to a rich year ahead.”

Beginning this fall, The NEA Foundation staff, partners, and program alumni will support the fellows over the next year as they immerse themselves in online coursework, webinars, reading and reflection. The fellows will participate in a two-day professional development conference in October and a ten-day international field study to South Africa next summer. The field study brings the cohort together as they investigate the historical and cultural context of the country they visit and learn about its education system through meetings with policymakers, business, and nonprofit leaders, as well as visits to schools to meet teachers, students and administrators.

The fellows will conclude their fellowship with a project that enables their learning to be shared more broadly with educators beyond the program.

Get to know all of the 2023 NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellows by visiting neafoundation.org.

The NEA Foundation will begin accepting applications for the 2024 Global Learning Fellowship this fall.