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Eligible applicants must be:
secondary-level, full-time teachers with five or more years of classroom experience in either English as a Foreign Language; or Social Science (social studies, civics, geography or history)
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, India, Bangladesh, Argentina, Cambodia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Ghana, and Senegal.
proficient in written and spoken English
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The Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, and implemented by IREX, a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization. TEA will provide 105 secondary school teachers from Eurasia, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Hemisphere with unique opportunities to develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge about the United States. The international participants will travel to the United States in fall 2009 to participate in a 6-week professional development program at a U.S. university. The professional development program will include coursework and intensive training in teaching methodologies, lesson planning, teaching strategies for the participants’ home environment, educational leadership, as well as the use of computers for Internet, word processing, and as teaching tools. The 6-week program also will include a 2 to 3-week internship at a secondary school to actively engage participants with American teachers and students. Trips to U.S. cultural sites and academic support will be provided for participants throughout the program.
In spring 2010 a cohort of 40 U.S. teachers will reciprocate the visits of the international teachers. Each U.S. teacher will be hosted by a TEA alumni school in the participating country where they will team-teach, and discuss best teaching practices, curriculum, and educational issues in the host country. The trip will include visits to local schools and parents’ committees, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and local government
offices.
Also, TEA will provide follow-on grants to the international teachers to purchase essential materials for their schools, to offer follow-on training for other teachers, and to conduct other activities that will build on the exchange visits.
The TEA fellowship is fully funded and provides:
- J-1 visa support;
- Round-trip airfare from participant’s home city to and within the United States;
- A Welcome Orientation in Washington, D.C.;
- University training program;
- Accident and sickness coverage;
- Housing (generally shared with other program participants) and meals;
- Transportation allowance for travel to school internship (if necessary);
- Book allowance;
- An End of Program Conference hosted by one of the TEA host universities in the U.S.;
- The opportunity to host a U.S. teacher for two weeks; and
- The opportunity to apply for follow-on grants.
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