In the Global Peacebuilding Center, we believe in the power of young people to change our world for the better. We see and hear examples of it every day. We also believe that for them to do so, young people need to be equipped with knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable them to envision a more peaceful world and their part in creating it. Teachers play a critical role in young people’s development and action as peacebuilders, and we support – and celebrate – them in that role.
But we also recognize that it can be difficult to incorporate new ideas and curricula into the classroom. While educators may want to teach global peacebuilding themes and skills, many face various challenges to doing so.
The USIPeace Teachers program is a year-long professional development opportunity for middle and high school educators in the United States. Launched in 2015 by the Global Peacebuilding Center, it offers a select group of educators the opportunity to work closely with each other and with the U.S. Institute of Peace over the course of a school year as they integrate global peacebuilding themes and skills into their classrooms. This program is designed to support USIPeace Teachers individually and collectively as they teach global peacebuilding; to provide them with a platform to learn and share with teachers across the country as leaders in peacebuilding education; and to harness their own good ideas in the creation of new resources and initiatives that can enable other educators to teach global peacebuilding.
Stay tuned for more news about our USIPeace Teachers program and updates on our 2016-2017 Cohort. We look forward to working with this inspiring group of educators!
Meet our USIPeace Teachers 2016-2017 Cohort:
Matthew Cone
Carrboro High School, Carrboro, NC
Matthew Cone is a social studies teacher at Carrboro High School in North Carolina. He became a teacher because he wanted to assist diverse groups of students in learning about international issues and in considering how they could use their talents to create a more humane world. Three years into his career, he recognized that his students performed at a higher level and became more animated when they opened up their classroom to experts with firsthand experience in connection with the issues that they studied. Since making this discovery, his students have engaged with a wide range (Laura Bush & Noam Chomsky talked to them in the same week!) of experts and channeled their knowledge into action. On a personal level, Matt has two sons and a terrific wife, he loves to read, and he has the misfortune of being a diehard fan of both UNC and the Golden State Warriors.
Latricia Davis
Lakehill Preparatory School, Dallas, TX
Latricia Davis recently completed her Master of Education with a specialization in Gifted and Talented at the University of North Texas. In 2006, she graduated from Texas Tech University with a Master of Arts in History. This was followed by a Master of Arts in Museum Studies, with a specialization in Education, from University of Oklahoma in 2009. After spending a year working on research for her PhD at the University of London and British Library, Latricia briefly worked in the corporate world before entering the classroom. Since 2013, she has been a High School History teacher at Lakehill Preparatory School. She teaches World Geography, World History, AP U.S. History, and AP Human Geography. Latricia believes it is important that students realize how much they are a part of a larger interconnected world and how their actions can affect change in it.
Lori Raybold
Hamburg High School, Hamburg, NY
An English teacher for 18 years, Lori currently teaches freshmen and sophomores at Hamburg High School and is an Associate Director of The Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies (Buffalo, NY). A native of Reading, PA, she attended Penn State and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English, a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, and was a member of the Marching Blue Band. Upon moving to Western New York, Lori earned a Master of Arts in English from SUNY Fredonia. In 2009, she had the honor of traveling to Rwanda with humanitarian Carl Wilkens to study the 1994 genocide. She was recently named a National Teacher Fellow for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (2016-2017). As a member of the New Generation Initiative of the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo, Lori is in charge of coordinating an annual teacher trip to Washington, DC. In her free time she enjoys reading and hiking.
Rhonda Scullark
Perspectives Middle Academy, Chicago, IL
Rhonda Scullark is a teacher and Network Peace Ambassador at Perspectives Charter Schools, Chicago. She attended high school at Kenwood Academy, a Chicago public school, and went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, on a full scholarship. She continued her education and earned her Master of Arts from Saint Xavier University, Chicago. Rhonda has been an educator in both the private and public sector for over fifteen years, and has taught students from preschool ages through high school. Her most recent accomplishments include the 2015-2016 Perspectives Charter Schools’ A Disciplined Life Award, and travelling to schools in Flint, Michigan with Perspectives students to deliver water and share the “I Am For Peace” documentary. She is a member of the first African American sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, and as a breast cancer survivor serves as an advocate for awareness. In addition, Rhonda actively volunteers in her community and church. She currently resides in the Chicago area with her three daughters.
Meet the 2015-2016 USIPeace Teachers cohort here.
Learn more about the Global Peacebuilding Center’s resources for educators.
Want more information about the USIPeace Teachers program or our educator resources? Contact us at buildingpeace@usip.org.
