General Information

The Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, and implemented by IREX, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization. TEA will provide 154 secondary school teachers from Europe and Eurasia, East Asia and the Pacific, the Near East, South and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Hemisphere with unique opportunities to develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge about the United States. The international participants will travel to the United States in two cohorts of 75-78 teachers each in spring or fall 2011. Their program will include customized seminars and intensive training in teaching methodologies, lesson planning, and teaching strategies for the participants’ home environment, as well as the use of computers for Internet, word processing, and as teaching tools. The 6-week program will also include a 2-week internship at a secondary school to actively engage participants with American teachers and students. Trips to U.S. cultural sites and academic support will be provided for participants throughout the program.

Applications for TEA can be obtained and submitted by contacting Maira Tungatarova at the U.S. Embassy: phone: +7 (7172) 70 23 16; fax: +7 (7172) 70 23 88; email: TungatarovaM@state.gov.

• Download: Program Application Form (PDF, 492KB)
• Download: Institutional Support and Reference Form (PDF, 165KB)

Also, TEA will provide the opportunity for TEA alumni to apply for follow-on grants to purchase essential materials for their schools, to offer follow-on training for other teachers, and to conduct other activities that will build on their exchange experience. 

The fellowship provides J-1 visa support, a pre-departure orientation held in participant’s home country, round-trip airfare to and within the U.S., a Welcome Orientation in Washington, D.C., academic program fees, housing (generally shared with other program fellows) and meals, accident and sickness coverage, transportation to the internship school (if necessary), a book/professional development allowance, a closing seminar, the opportunity to apply to host a U.S. teacher for two weeks, and the opportunity to apply for follow-on grants.

In spring and summer 2012 a cohort of approximately 80 U.S. teachers will reciprocate the visits of the international teachers. Each U.S. teacher will be hosted by a TEA alumni school in the participating country where they will team-teach, discuss best teaching practices, curriculum, and educational issues in the host country. The trip will include visits to local schools and parent committees, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and local government offices.