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Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) - Eurasia/South Asia
US Teacher Biographies 2008
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Julie Bander, World History Teacher
Swampscott High School
Swampscottt, MA
TEA Placement Country: Georgia
Julie Bander teaches World History in the suburban costal town of Swampscott, Massachusetts. Prior to that, Julie taught world history, American history, and government in New York City. Julie currently teaches freshmen and sophomores, and her classes’ average 22 students. Julie also advises the class of 2011. She lives in Boston with her husband and spends time traveling, reading, enjoying outdoor activities, and learning about art and architecture. Julie’s objectives for participating in TEA are to share ideas about best practices, learn about another culture, and share her experience with her school community.
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Margaret Cassidy, Social Studies Teacher
Encinal High School
Alameda, California
TEA Placement Country: Turkmenistan
Margaret Cassidy has been credentialed since 1991 and has taught at Encinal High School for 8 years. This year she will be teaching government/economics, sheltered government/economics and psychology to juniors and seniors. She is presently working toward becoming a Professional Developer in literacy strategies. She has also conducted teacher trainings in Socratic Seminar methodologies. Margaret has a MA in Counseling from San Francisco State University, an MA in Education from Claremont Graduate University, and a BA in American studies from Scripps College in Claremont, CA. Her primary objectives for participating in TEA are to share ideas and knowledge with her colleagues and to gain new insight and experiences.
Mellanie Clay, ESL Reading Teacher
International Newcomer Academy
Fort Worth, TX
TEA Placement Country: India
Mellanie Clay teaches ESL reading at International Newcomer Academy, a public intensive English language immersion school for first year immigrants to the U.S. who range in age from 12 to 19. She attended North Texas State University in Denton, Texas where she received both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in secondary education. Prior to joining the Fort Worth ISD, she taught at Texas Christian University and J. J. Pearce High School. In addition to her successful teaching career in the U.S., which included two National Endowment for the Humanities awards, she is fortunate to have had many overseas experiences, including six overseas professional projects: Fulbright Hays Summer Scholar awards to Australia, China, South Africa, and Zimbabwe; the Korea Society program to Korea; and the Fulbright Memorial Fund program to Japan. Additionally, she taught English at the Shangrao Prefectural Institute of Education, Jiangxi Province, the People’s Republic of China; traveled to Lithuania by invitation of the Parliament to help determine what textbooks and educational aids Lithuania would need for teaching English; and worked with Finland’s National Board of Education on a nine lesson radio series designed to strengthen adult English skills. She is the treasurer TexTESOL V, the professional Organization for ESL teachers of North Texas. Mellanie is married to her husband David whom she met in high school band class. Mellanie truly enjoys learning about other cultures of the world and looks forward to participating in the TEA experience both as a teacher and as a student in a new culture
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Kate English, English Teacher
William J. Johnston Middle School
Colchester, CT
TEA Placement Country: Ukraine
Kate English began her career as an English teacher in 2000. At William J. Johnston Middle School, she is the Team Leader of the Gamma Team, comprised of five teachers, and working each year with approximately ninety eighth grade students of diverse ability levels. Kate received a Joseph Zola Holocaust Educator Award from the University Of Hartford, and is a Museum Teacher Fellow for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. She has led several workshops on responsible teaching methodologies relating to the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights. Kate earned her Bachelor’s degree In Human Development and Family Relations from the University of Connecticut in 1992. Certified to teach through Connecticut’s Alternate Route to Certification program, she earned her Master Degree in Educational Psychology, Gifted and Talented Education in 2003, also from UConn. Kate is married with an adult daughter and a son in high school. Her hobbies include cooking, yoga, theater, and advising the newly formed Model UN chapter in her school. For Kate, generating understanding between cultures and fostering an exchange of ideas are her primary objectives for participating in this program.
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Joel Fouser, Social Studies Teacher
Del Norte High School
Albuquerque, NM
TEA Placement Country: Kazakhstan
Joel Fouser teaches social studies at Del Norte High School in Albuquerque, NM, where he has taught since 2002. He has taught AP U.S. Government, A.P. Macroeconomics, U.S. History, as well as New Mexico history. He also coaches soccer and sponsors a variety of clubs and extracurricular organizations. Joel earned an extended bachelor’s of science in Social Studies Education from Northern Arizona University in 2002 and in 2007 Joel received a James Madison Memorial Foundation Fellowship to pursue his masters in political science. He is currently attending the University of New Mexico. Outside of teaching, Joel enjoys spending time with his son and staying active through soccer, baseball, running and the outdoors. He also works as an actor in the emerging film industry of New Mexico. Joel hopes to take his experiences in TEA and extend them to his students in any way possible, as well as gain greater insight into other cultures.
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Tom Glaser, English and Social Studies Teacher
Mater Academy
Miami, Florida
TEA Placement Country: Armenia
Tom Glaser has taught English and social studies in Miami for 21 years and has just started at Mater Academy. He teaches 11th and 12th graders (16-18 years old) honors U.S. history and government and economics, with about 30 students per class. He has also taught as an adjunct professor in several universities. Tom is a member of his local school advisory board, his city’s school advisory council, a board member of his local and state social studies councils, and is active in Holocaust education of teachers. He also presents at local, state, and national professional conferences. He received his bachelor’s degree in government and English from Texas Christian University in 1974, a master of international management from Thunderbird in 1975, and a master in American history from Florida International University in 2007. Tom is married. His hobbies include reading, fishing, various collections, and travel. His primary objective for participating in TEA is to improve education both by working with professionals with quite different experiences and by bringing his experiences to students.
Elizabeth Graf, English Teacher
Whitney Young High School
Chicago, Illinois
TEA Placement Country : India
Elizabeth Graf has been teaching American and multi-cultural literatures to students between the ages of 14-18 at Whitney Young High School for the past 8 years—in classrooms that can hold up to 30 pupils. In addition to sponsoring after school activities such as the Asian American Club and a Poetry Club, Ms. Graf also coaches the school’s dedicated swimming team. Due to the hard-earned success of the team, she was named coach of the year in 2006 and 2007 respectively. She received a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2001 for Secondary English Education and hopes to pursue a Master’s degree in the fall of 2009. Her hobbies include the pursuit of athletic endeavors (such as competing in marathons and long distance swims), journal writing, and world travel. Her primary objective for participating in TEA is to observe, collaborate, and take note of the educational practices of others with the intent to improve upon her own teaching methods. In addition, she hopes to be able to open a window to a culture that many of her students might not have considered glimpsing upon before—that of India.
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Chon Lee, English Teacher
Lincoln Middle School
Santa Monica, California
TEA Placement Country: Azerbaijan
Chon Lee has been teaching English language arts and French at Lincoln Middle School for the past 8 years. He teaches primarily 8th graders who range in age from 13-14 years old. On average there are 26 students per period in his heterogeneous classrooms. Chon is a National Board Certified Teachers who works closely with the faculty as the Grade Level Coordinator-implementing and monitoring the student community service initiative and facilitating weekly grade level leadership meetings. As a Teachers Network Leadership Institute (TNLI) MetLife Fellow, Chon serves as a liaison between staff and the community, actively bringing school-wide issues into the forefront for parents and community leaders. Chon received two bachelor’s degrees in English and Comparative Literature from the University of California-Irvine in 2000 and a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2004. Chon is currently single but enjoys spending time with family and friends, surfing, swimming, biking, playing tennis, watching movies, and traveling. The past three summers, Chon has been to South Africa, Great Britain, and Cambodia. His primary objectives for participating in TEA are to both share and contribute his prior knowledge with people from across the world as well as to illuminate and teach his student’s to value and respect diverse cultures and multiple perspectives in a new, fresh lens.
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Belkis Madera, World Cultures Teacher
Oak Hammock K-8 School
Port St. Lucie, FL
TEA Placement Country: India
Belkis Madera currently teaches World Cultures to 130 6th grade students at Oak Hammock K-8 School. She is the 6th grade Falcon’s Team Leader, co-chairperson of the Positive Behavior Support Program, and co-chairperson of the multi-cultural committee. Belkis earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University and her National Board Certification in Social Studies/History in 2005. She is married with two sons, one daughter, and three energetic grandchildren. Her hobbies include photography, traveling, and reading. Belkis earned a Fulbright Scholarship to Japan in 2003 and she spent three weeks ‘soaking up’ the culture of this amazing country. She recently returned from Spain where she spent five weeks studying literature based on Spanish art. Her goal for participating in TEA is to share her experiences and teaching practices with fellow teachers and to introduce her students to the colorful Indian culture.
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Jana Reiter, American Government Teacher
Francis Howell North High School
St. Charles, MO
TEA Placement Country: Bangladesh
Jana Reiter teaches American Government, Contemporary Issues, and Psychology at Francis Howell North High school in St. Charles, MO. Previously, she taught social studies in Florida and spent a year teaching economics at Achimota Secondary school in Accra, Ghana as a Fulbright Exchange Teacher. Ms. Reiter also serves as a STARR (Selected Teacher as a Regional Resource) teacher for Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She received an MA in Education, specializing in gifted education, from Lindenwood University and a BA in history from Truman State University. Ms. Reiter is currently a doctorial candidate in Education Leadership at St. Louis University. Ms. Reiter looks forward to the opportunity to work with international teachers and to explore ideas of best practice to then share and implement with those in her own community.
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Dawn Schmidt, Social Studies Teacher
Desert Vista High School
Phoenix, Arizona
TEA Placement Country: Tajikistan
Dawn Schmidt has been teaching at Desert Vista High school for the past 10 years in the Social Studies Department. She is currently teaching AP World History, AP European History, and Honors World History/Geography and has also team taught American studies. She is currently serving a 3 year term as a board member on the Arizona Council for the Social Studies. She was a co-trainer for Six Trait Writing for several years at her school. Dawn has also led high school students on study tours to Europe and China. Dawn received her Bachelor of Arts in History from Pepperdine University and a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University. Dawn is married with a young daughter. She is excited to gain first hand knowledge of Central Asia to share with her students and to share teaching techniques and styles with fellow educators.
Clare Sisisky, Director and Social Studies Teacher
Center for the Humanities, Hermitage High School
Richmond, VA
TEA Placement Country: Bangladesh
Clare Sisisky has been the director of the Center for Humanities for Henrico County Public Schools in Richmond, VA for three years. The Center for Humanities is a rigorous program with an academic focus on history, literature, philosophy and the arts. Clare teaches 12th grade history and humanities courses. She previously taught philosophy, religion, and history and Phillips Academy, Andover, MA. Clare’s academic background is in religious studies, primarily in the religions of Asia. She has an undergraduate degree from the George Washington University and a graduate degree from Harvard University where she was also part of the program in Religion and Secondary Education. She spent a year in Mauritius conducting research on immigration and religion and more recently received a Fulbright-Hays summer seminar award to travel and study in China. Clare has written about and made conference presentations on several issues affecting secondary school education and she looks forward to professional exchange with educators from various parts of Asia. Clare and her husband love to travel and have spent time in India and various parts of Africa. She also loves to walk her dog, and canoe or hike along the James River.
Jody Smothers-Marcello, English and Social Studies Teacher
Sitka High School
Sitka, Alaska
TEA Placement Country: Ukraine
Jody’s life revolves around teaching, whether in Sitka where she has taught for 21 years, or presenting at many state, national, and international education institutes and conferences. She especially enjoys the creative side of teaching, as demonstrated in her development of the AP Human Geography and Alaska Studies courses at Sitka High and which has been recognized by awards from the Alaska and National Councils for the Social Studies, the Disney Channel, and the National Council for Geographic Education. Jody is a past-president of the National Council for Geographic Education, associate editor of The Geography Teacher, and a National Board Certified teacher. She currently serves on the National Advisory Committee for the Social Studies Praxis and teaches a graduate course in multicultural education for the University of Alaska Southeast Master of Arts in Teaching program. Her B.S. and M.Ed. degrees are from Texas A&M University. When not teaching, Jody enjoys reflecting on the human condition through reading, writing, photography, and travel, especially when that opportunity affords her the ability to ride the ferry to Juneau to visit her daughter Laurinda who is in graduate school there. Her primary objective in participating in the TEA program is to continue a career-long goal of building cultural understandings among educational professionals and for students in her classrooms.
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Lisa Wakefield, ELL Teacher
Greenway High School,
Phoenix, Arizona
TEA Placement Country: Kazakhstan
Lisa has been teaching English Language Learners (ELL) for 19 years. She has taught all levels and contents of ELL; currently she is teaching writing and grammar to beginning and intermediate level students. Her students include freshmen to seniors; ages 14-19. She serves as the Department Chair and also teaches a Structured English Immersion (SF1) graduate class to district teachers. She sponsors the Senior Class for Student Government and serves on Arizona State Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Board. She was named the 2006 ELL Teacher of a Year for Arizona. Lisa has a Masters Degree from Grand Canyon University in ESL. Her hobbies are spending time with her husband and two children, reading and exercising. Her objective for participating in TEA is to gain a better understanding of what her students feel like when they come to a new country; expand her cultural knowledge and grow professionally.
Deborah Wilchek, International Baccalaureate Diploma Coordinator
Rockville High School
Rockville, MD
TEA Placement Country: Kyrgyzstan
