U.S. Department of State Invites Applications for Fulbright Teacher and Administrator Exchange Program

The Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (http://exchanges.state.gov) administers these exchanges under the Fulbright Program, the flagship exchange program of the U.S. government that promotes mutual understanding between citizens of the United States and other countries. Since the establishment of the Fulbright Program in 1946, more than 229,000 Americans and citizens of other countries have participated.

The Fulbright Teacher and Administrator Exchange Program features direct one-to-one exchanges and offers reciprocal advantages to participating institutions. Schools and communities gain the expertise and perspective of the visiting exchange teacher and, subsequently, share the experiences of their returning faculty members. Approximately 400 educators take part in the program each year. U.S. and international teachers continue to be paid by their home institutions while exchanging classrooms, usually for a full academic year. For the individual educator, this is the ultimate professional development opportunity.

Administrator exchanges consist of reciprocal three- to six-week visits to each administrator's institution. The U.S. administrator works with his or her foreign counterpart as a team in shadowing and sharing information on administrative duties. There is an eight-week seminar in Italy for two-year college faculty and teachers (grades 9-12) of Latin, Greek, or the classics.

Participating countries for the academic year 2002-2003 include Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Peru, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe.

U.S. educators interested in participating must be U.S. citizens, have a full-time teaching or administrative position, be in at least the third year of full-time employment (for teaching and administrative exchanges) or in the second year of full-time teaching (for summer seminar participation), and be fluent in English. In some non-English speaking countries, demonstrated fluency in the appropriate language is required. The Presidentially appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board will select participants.

Applications must be postmarked no later than October 15, 2001. Requests for applications, publicity material, and general information should be directed to Ms. Roberta Croll, Outreach Specialist, Fulbright Teacher and Administrator Exchange Program, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Suite 320, Washington, DC, 20024; phone 800-726-0479; e-mail: fulbright@grad.usda.gov; Web site: grad.usda.gov/info_for/fulbright.cfm.

Media Contact: Catherine Stearns, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 202-619-5053.