Taos teacher received prestigious Fulbright award
Leslie Baker of Taos Municipal Charter School in Taos has received a Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching grant to Finland from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Baker is one of approximately 35 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad through the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program in 2018-2019. Fulbright grant recipients are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential, according to a statement from the organization.
The Fulbright program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. The program is “designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries,” according to the statement. The Fulbright Program is funded by Congress through an appropriation to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and the United States also provide direct and indirect support to the Fulbright program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.
The Fulbright program was founded in 1946 and since then has provided more than 380,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, professionals and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
Among Fulbright alumni, 59 have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 have received Pulitzer Prizes and 37 have served as a head of state or government.
The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program sends U.S. teachers abroad and brings international teachers to the United States for a semester of independent study and professional development focused on sharing international best practices and developing students’ global competence. Based at university-level schools of education or other educational institutions in the host country, participants complete an inquiry project , take courses, share their expertise with local teachers and students, and when they return home, strive to implement what they have learned.