Wayne County teachers earn grants to travel, study over summer
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on May 5, 2010 1:46 PM
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Four area teachers will be spending their summer break studying.
But they will get to leave North Carolina to do it, thanks to travel-study awards recently announced.
Erin Smith, an English teacher at Spring Creek High School, will travel to Japan in July to participate in a national consortium for teaching about Asia. In 2007-08, she completed a year-long program that made her eligible for the all-expense-paid trip.
She, along with other educators, will spend time in Hiroshima, Kyota and Tokyo studying the history, religion and literature of Japan.
The other three will be stateside for their studies.
Allison Jennings, Rosewood High School agriculture instructor and FFA adviser, will be part of the Class of 2010 National Agriscience Teacher Ambassador Academy, sponsored by the DuPont Office of Education in Chestertown, Md. Held from July 11-16, the NATAA is designed to provide agriculture teachers the content and methods of teaching science to students through interactive, hands-on workshops.
Rosewood High history teacher Jennie van der Helm was selected to attend the Ashbrook Summer Institute entitled "The Progressive Era" from June 27 through July 2 on the campus of Ashland University in Ohio. Costs for travel, housing, books, tuition and a small stipend are paid for by the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs.
One history teacher from each state is invited to take part in the opportunity, along with 60 students from around the world.
Ann Price, a second-grade teacher at Tommy's Road Elementary School, won an Abraham Lincoln Fellowship through the Horace Mann Insurance Company. One of 50 teachers nationwide chosen for the award, she will study in St. Louis, Missouri and be involved in a week-long research project at the Abraham Lincoln Museum.
Schools Superintendent Steven Taylor congratulated the educators on being chosen for the educational opportunities.
"These four teachers received travel-study awards for their demonstrated excellence in the classroom and their continued dedication to increasing student achievement," he said. Superintendent. "We congratulate them on their awards and look forward to the resources and knowledge they will bring back to their students and colleagues."