2021-22 Teacher Program

• Grade 6-14 educators from public, private, and charter schools, and from community colleges
• Grade 6-14 school leaders, librarians, and other school-based educators
• Teachers in the profession for five or fewer years are especially encouraged to apply
• Educators who teach (or plan to teach) about the rich religious diversity in MENA and/or SEA, in a wide range of curricula, including courses in global studies, comparative religious studies, world history, literature, the arts, and other fields

Applicants not currently teaching should use their essays to describe the impact their participation in the program will have on teaching and learning at their schools and colleges (for example through curriculum development or programs for students).

Application materials must include these five components:

• Online data-intake form
• Résumé or CV: Not to exceed five pages, detailing your educational qualifications and professional experience
• Application Essay: Should not exceed four double‑spaced pages in length and should address all of the following questions:
  • What motivates you to apply for this program?
  • What qualifications and/or international experiences equip you to make the most of the program and to contribute to its learning community?
  • How do you plan to incorporate what you have learned in the program in your teaching and with fellow educators?
• Lesson Plan: A lesson plan and a one-page reflective response about the execution of the lesson plan. (The lesson plan need not teach about one or either of the two regions.)
• Recommendation Form, via this link. Should be written by a senior colleague or administrator at your school (e.g., your department chair, assistant principal, or principal). The form will be submitted independent of the rest of the application materials. Please give your recommender ample notice of the deadline.

An application without ANY of these five components will be considered incomplete, and will NOT be reviewed.

The selection committee will evaluate applications based on the evidence of:

• effectiveness and commitment as an educator
• motivation and commitment to international education
• perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the program’s learning community
• evidence that participation will have a long-term impact on your teaching

Successful applicants will be notified via e-mail of their selection by Monday, April 19, 2021, and they will have till Monday, May 3, 2021, to accept or decline the offer. When choices must be made between equally qualified candidates, preference is given to those who would enhance the diversity of the program’s cohort.

Program participants must attend and participate in the all-day workshops, meetings, site visits, etc., held on each scheduled Saturday between September 2021 and June 2022 (excluding December). By the end of the program, teacher-fellows are also required to produce two lesson plans, one about each region, that will be shared publicly and freely on the websites of CSEAS and CMENAS. They also must complete evaluations of the program.

Each educator successfully completing the program will receive:

• $1,000 honorarium award. This may be used to offset fees from the GEEO trip in the summer of 2022 to Southeast Asia or to the Middle East or North Africa. 
• SCECH eligibility from the Michigan Department of Education (for Grade 6-12 educators)
• Tickets to cultural events, artistic performances, and museums as part of the cohort activities
• Reimbursement for travel to/from U-M Ann Arbor and overnight lodging for long-distance travelers

Failure to complete the program requirements will result in a reduction in the honorarium.