Contributed

Kelly Dombrowski, principal of Oakboro Choice STEM School, and Jeff Little, a second-grade teacher at East Albemarle Elementary School, are the 2019 Mariam and Robert Hayes Charitable Trust award recipients from Stanly County Schools.

The awards are dedicated to support their participation in Go Global NC’s Global Teachers – Mexico 2019 program. They will participate in the program this summer as members of a delegation of 41 educators from across North Carolina.

“Our annual Global Teachers program provides North Carolina’s teachers with professional development they can use to develop global-ready students,“ said Nicholas Rau, director of education and training for Go Global NC. “Educators are immersed in new cultures and have new global experiences they can immediately incorporate into their classrooms.”

Educators will study the culture of Mexico because it is linked so much to North Carolina, Rau said.

“The delegation will learn about the education system through school visits, lectures and discussions with Mexican educators,” Rau said. “Our teachers will also build their capacity to recognize the benefits and positively meet the challenges of the changing demographics in North Carolina’s school districts.”

Go Global NC’s Global Teachers program focuses on a different country each year.

Delegates participate in domestic workshops, an immersion experience and a follow-up workshop. Go Global NC is part of the University of North Carolina System.

“We look forward to seeing how this experience of Mexican culture and history will expand global learning for the students and staff of Oakboro Choice STEM and East Albemarle as well as Stanly County Schools as a whole,” said said Vicki Calvert, assistant superintendent of personnel and student services for Stanly County Schools.

Global Teachers delegates are prepared to share this unique experience when they return to North Carolina with new knowledge and skills that will benefit the students in their classrooms.

“I am most excited to learn about the culture and day to day life experiences for students in the cities we will visit and how it influences everyday learning,” Dombrowski said.

“This award is proving to be a truly life-changing event for me,” Little said. “It is providing me with an opportunity to make my first ever trip outside of the United States.”

— Go Global NC