Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/851305
34 ADVOCATE | SUMMER 2017 T he NEA Foundation named Renata Geurtz, a business educator at North High School in Phoenix, Ariz., as one of the 48 public school educators to become a member of this year's class of Global Learning Fellows. Geurtz will spend a year building global competency skills (the capacity to understand and act on issues of global significance). As a result of the Fellowship, Geurtz will be better equipped to prepare students for global citizenship. Fellows also create valuable global lesson plans for their students that are freely shared with educators across the nation and the world through open-source platforms. "I want to live a life of learning, asking questions, finding answers, and then teaching others to use this information to make their lives better and improve their economic prospects," says Geurtz. This class of Fellows was selected from more than 400 applicants from across the country. These new Fellows teach all grade levels – and all subjects: from visual and performing arts to agri-science, vocational studies to history. They come from rural, suburban, and urban schools. They are National Board Certified, curriculum coaches, IB coordinators, foreign language speakers, and more. Some have participated in similar programs, and some have never traveled abroad. The diverse cohort will allow educators to learn from each other and bring global perspectives to a wide range of students. "We believe that educators are the key to giving students the skills to thrive in an interconnected world," said Harriet Sanford, President and CEO of the NEA Foundation. "We created the Global Learning Fellowship to provide professional development in teaching global competencies and to support educators as they integrate these skills into classroom instruction." Over the course of a year, the NEA Foundation staff, partners, and field experts will support Geurtz as she immerses herself in online coursework, webinars, and collegial study, including a two-day professional development workshop this fall and a nine-day international field study next summer, bringing the full cohort together with experts in global learning. Prior Fellows have contributed valuable knowledge to the field by posting replicable lesson plans on open-source platforms here and here. Past Fellows have returned to advance global competency in their schools and districts—one Fellow recently brought Peruvian artists to her school to teach her students how to incorporate their own culture into their art. Get to know all of the 2018 NEA Foundation Learning Fellows by visiting neafoundation.org. The NEA Foundation will accept applications for the 2019 Global Learning Fellowship this fall. The NEA Foundation is a public charity founded by educators for educators to improve public education for all students. Since their beginning in 1969, the Foundation has served as a laboratory of learning, offering funding and other resources to public school educators, their schools, and districts to solve complex teaching and learning challenges. Visit neafoundation.org for more information. Phoenix Union Member Selected as 2018 NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellow Multifaceted yearlong learning journey to prepare Renata Geurtz, students as global citizens.