TEA Program Gives Foreign Teachers a Chance to Go Back to School

The School of Educational Studies highlights the importance of its students being a part of the wider world. This fall, for the seventh year in a row, it is bringing the wider world into its own classrooms.

Twenty-two middle- and high-school teachers from 20 countries are currently attending classes at Claremont Graduate University as part of the Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) program.

TEA is a six-week residential professional development program that aims to help participating teachers develop greater expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge of the United States.

The US Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and IREX, a nonprofit dedicated to global education and development, co-sponsor the TEA program. The organizations hope that the cross-cultural bonds formed during the program will further global understanding and, ultimately, world peace.

During the program, the TEA fellows work with partner teachers in the classrooms of local middle schools and high schools, take classes at CGU, participate in a service project such as helping to run school-based community events, and enjoy cultural and social outings.

This year’s program cohort hails from the following countries: Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Colombia, Estonia, Georgia, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malawi, Nicaragua, Russian, Rwanda, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Zambia.