Harris, DPS teachers to visit Guatemala for cultural immersion experience
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Yarbrough, Communications Coordinator, Office of Public Affairs, 560-2602
David Stein, Senior Partnership Coordinator, Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership, 668-6271
DURHAM— Durham Public Schools Superintendent Carl Harris will be among a number of DPS educators, including principals and teachers, who will travel to Guatemala in June for a week-long language and cultural immersion experience, in partnership with Duke University.
The visit is made possible through the Duke Durham Neighborhood Partnership. Last year, Duke University President Richard Brodhead committed nearly $1 million to support Durham Public Schools teachers. Part of that money was earmarked for the provision of professional development for those who teach Spanish-speaking students and included a week of immersion in a Spanish-speaking country. A grant from the United Way-Duke Partnership will provide the trip for Dr. Harris and Forest View Principal Lisa Napp.
The 20 educators are from DPS schools near campus that are in the Neighborhood Partnership and have large Latino populations, including E.K. Powe Elementary, Lakewood Elementary, George Watts Montessori and Forest View Elementary. The teachers have completed a year of weekly Spanish classes taught by Duke instructors.
“I am pleased that Duke is able to help DPS teachers better support the growing numbers of Latino students in their schools,” Brodhead said. “International exposure is increasingly an important part of education, providing first-hand knowledge of different cultures and making us more aware of how interconnected our world is today. Time abroad also can be a particularly potent way to integrate classroom and experiential learning.”
While in Guatemala, the teachers will receive intensive tutoring in Spanish and will visit urban and rural schools. They also will stay with Guatemalan host families. Superintendent Harris also plans to post a web update so that the Durham community can keep up with his activities and experiences.
The visits to schools will give educators a firsthand experience with the challenges parents face when enrolling children in a school where a different language is spoken. By experiencing life in a different culture, they will have more familiarity with the difficulties many Hispanic/Latino families have in negotiating paperwork required for registration, immunization, the free and reduced lunch program and other areas.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for me and members of my staff to experience firsthand the language and the culture of our Hispanic and Latino students and families so that we may do a better job of meeting their needs here in Durham,” said Superintendent Harris. “This type of immersion is invaluable as we continue our efforts to understand and serve this growing population.”
By staying with families, the participants will have the opportunity to learn about the culture as well as improve upon their Spanish-speaking skills. Experts have identified Guatemala as an excellent country in which to learn Spanish because English words and slang are less prevalent in speech and writing than in some countries.
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