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District 6 welcomes 22 Fulbright teachers for six‑week classroom exchange
Summary
University of Northern Colorado and Fulbright brought 22 international secondary teachers to Greeley School District 6 for six weeks of professional learning, weekly field placements at three district schools and campus coursework intended to share methods and broaden students’ global perspectives.
The Board of Education of Greeley School District No. 6 in the county of Weld on Wednesday heard from visiting Fulbright Teacher Exchange participants hosted through the University of Northern Colorado.
Kate Pearson, assistant director of custom international programs at the University of Northern Colorado and co‑director of the Fulbright TEA program, said the cohort includes 22 participants representing 21 countries who will spend six weeks working in District 6 schools. “We are very excited to be welcoming 22 participants from 21 countries,” Pearson said.
The program pairs each visiting teacher with a local host teacher for weekly field experiences and co‑teaching. Pearson told the board participants are placed at Brentwood Middle School, Greeley West High School and Greeley Central High School and attend campus coursework on pedagogy, English as a foreign language, social studies and educational technology.
Raquel Cruz Prado, an English teacher from rural La Paz, Bolivia and founder of the nonprofit Pankarita, said the application and visa process took about a year and that she plans to transfer classroom strategies she learns in Greeley back to her rural school. “Some of my goals here in the Fulbright program is not only learn, but also apply. All the strategies I could learn from my teachers, professors, and also my… host teacher at Brentwood School and take it to my school in Bolivia,” she said.
Sergei Ivanov, an English and International Baccalaureate theory of knowledge teacher from Riga, Latvia, said this is his first trip to the United States and that he hopes to test new methodologies during the placements. “Every day, I learn something new about American way of life, about how school districts, how they manage and govern education here,” Ivanov said.
Program logistics noted to the board: participants take four campus classes during the placement, attend field experiences one day per week (Wednesdays) from about 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will observe a future board meeting. The cohort includes one special‑needs teacher from Malaysia—identified in the presentation as the program’s first special‑needs participant—and a majority of English‑language teachers as well as a few social studies teachers.
Board members praised the exchange as a way to expand students’ global perspectives and thanked the host teachers and University of Northern Colorado staff. Board President Masch invited the cohort to return for the district’s next regular board meeting, when the visitors will observe the board’s work.
The Fulbright TEA participants will remain in the district for the duration of the six‑week program and the district and UNC staff said they will continue to report on collaborative classroom activities and reciprocal learning opportunities in subsequent board meetings.
