About

Educational Travel Fellowship

Global, innovative education is integral to building 21st century skills—those skills that will prepare our children to thrive in the interconnected and fast-changing world we live in. Teachers are the most valuable resource we have to empower students to become global citizens and innovative thinkers.

Travel Blogs 2024

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  • Francesca Gerbino - Destination: Ireland

    Upper Elementary Science Teacher Francesca Gerbino will explore Ireland through experiences she has designed to expand and enrich the Curtis 6th Grade science curriculum. One of her goals is to further integrate the use of the school’s greenhouse and plantings on campus into the science curriculum. Ms. Gerbino will visit a variety of gardens in different parts of the country to grow her knowledge about maintaining and cultivating a space intended to be shared for years, as well as to learn about plant varieties in multi-use botanical spaces. She will also look at Irish geological structures with an eye to expanding the current geology unit focusing on southwest U.S. structures, including the Grand Canyon, to incorporate additional geologic world wonders and how their history is shared in other cultures.

    Please follow Ms. Gerbino's blog HERE.

  • Jayme Kritzler - Destination: Sweden and Finland

    In spring 2025, Upper Elementary Teacher Jayme Kritzler will travel to Sweden and Finland to explore those countries’ world-renowned education systems. In Helsinki, she will shadow a Finnish teacher for three days while observing daily life in elementary classrooms and have the opportunity to interview Finnish teachers and educational experts. In Sweden, she will visit a school that excels at serving a large population of refugee students with the aim of learning new ways to create an ever more inclusive, equitable, and engaging environment for all learners. Ms. Kritzler believes that these experiences will introduce her to new perspectives and ideas related to instilling student agency, community stewardship, and equity that she can apply in her classroom at Curtis.

  • Zelisha Zigler - Destination: England, France, and Switzerland

    Lower Elementary Teacher Zelisha Zigler will embark on an immersive exploration of deaf culture in Europe. She will visit the Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris to learn about its influential teaching methodologies and the challenges and triumphs of the deaf community. She will explore the vibrant deaf community of London by attending deaf theater, visiting deaf-owned businesses, and engaging in a variety of cultural exchanges. In Switzerland, she will connect with the deaf community through cultural workshops, outdoor adventures, and Zurich’s vibrant arts scene. Ms. Zigler plans to integrate lessons from deaf culture and history into her curriculum with the aim of fostering empathy, respect, and inclusivity among students and deepening their understanding of diversity and appreciation of different perspectives.

    Please follow Ms. Zigler's blog HERE.

Travel Blogs 2023

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  • Donielle Lemone - Destination: Cape Town and Hoedspruit, South Africa

    Follow our Upper Elementary Teacher, Donielle Lemone, as she travels to South Africa, specifically Cape Town and Hoedspruit, to learn about environmental stewardship, responsible tourism, and wildlife conservation. She believes that the two regions, with their similar Mediterranean climates, share common challenges and benefits with California, such as warm weather and droughts. Donielle is interested in exploring Cape Town's efforts towards a greener future and how they could relate to California. During her trip, she plans to visit two schools in Cape Town and Hoedspruit that teach students about environmental stewardship. Donielle hopes to bring back exemplary educational practices to her school and inspire students with stories and experiences, fostering a sense of hope and empowerment to become environmentally responsible citizens.

    Please follow Donielle's blog HERE.

  • Pina Tararo - Destination: Bali

    Follow our Lower Elementary Teacher, Pina Tararo, as she embarks on a journey to the island of Bali to acquire invaluable insights into mindfulness techniques that will enhance children's emotional regulation and social interactions and intends to integrate SEL and mindfulness practices in her classroom. She hopes to lead meditation and yoga classes at Curtis and spearhead hands-on sustainability initiatives utilizing the school's brand-new greenhouse, inspired by the renowned Green School Bali. This trip promises to be a fulfilling and enriching experience for Ms. Tararo as she endeavors to elevate the learning experience for her students.

    Please follow Pina's blog HERE.

Travel Blogs 2022

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  • Kat Patterson - Destination: Finland, Sweden & the Baltics

    Follow our Lower Elementary Teacher Kat Patterson as she travels to Finland, Sweden, and the Baltics to connect with educators to better understand their education systems and adopt innovative strategies that ensure a child-centered focus in her own kindergarten classroom. Finland’s education system is internationally renowned. Kat is particularly interested in exploring how Sweden integrates some of Finland’s approaches to education and to understand how Finland has mastered shorter school days while maintaining a high rate of success in preparing students at a young age to truly love learning by always being active participants. 

    Please follow Kat's blog HERE.

  • Kendal Copeland - Destination: Italy, France & England

    Follow our Associate Library and Media Specialist, Kendal Copeland, as she participates in an archeological dig in Tuscany, Italy, to unearth the ancient civilization at Populonia and continues her travels in London and Paris, where she will study storytellers, artists, activists, and museums. Her goal is to bring back new ideas, concepts, and ways of thinking to better foster curiosity, exploration, and creativity in her students.

    Please follow Kendal's blog HERE.

Travel Blogs 2019

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  • Debra Cohen - Destination: Italy & Greece

    Debra Cohen, 4th Grade Teacher, will travel to Italy and Greece to explore how people living daily where ancient history is still a part of modern life tell stories of the past and present through artifacts, tradition, and personal experience. Ms. Cohen believes that storytelling, or sharing one’s own history, helps to bring about a deeper understanding of those different from ourselves. She plans to teach students how learning about the ancient past and different cultures can help shape our understanding, tolerance and appreciation of differences.

     
     

  • Olivia Siegels - Destination: Thailand

    Olivia Siegels, Associate Teacher, will travel to Thailand to investigate how it is adjusting to an increase of tourism and what efforts are being made by government, hotels, and conservation groups to protect the country’s rich biodiversity. The surge in tourism in recent decades has created issues around land conservation, pollution and exploitation of animals. Ms. Siegels will use what she learns to continue to guide students to be conscientious citizens who care for our world and all of its inhabitants.
     

  • D'vora Taus-Kahn - Destination: Israel & Jordan

    D'vora Taus-Kahn, 6th Grade Teacher and Debate Coach, will travel to Israel and Jordan to visit historical and contemporary sites that relate to the social studies curriculum for 6th grade, which includes the study of ancient civilizations, tolerance, and world religions and belief systems. In addition to ancient sites and places of archeological interest, Ms. Taus-Kahn will visit locations that are important to major monotheistic religions in order to explore the ways in which religion, race, and culture are at the intersection of history and contemporary politics.
     
     

Travel Blogs 2018

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  • Linda Schaffer - Destination: Alaska

    Science Teacher Linda Schaffer traveled to Alaska to learn about changes in oceans and marine organisms in the Kenai Peninsula and to study first-hand the Alpine Taiga biome in Denali National Park. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is home to a wide diversity of wildlife, and the area includes ice fields and glaciers, with their own particular plant and animal species, as well as tundra, boreal forests, lakes and wetlands. Dr. Schaffer will use what she learned to provide her students with real-life evidence of changes within Arctic biomes.


    Blog

  • Amy Wiggins - Destination: Denmark & Germany

    Ms. Wiggins ventured to the homelands of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, Germany and Denmark respectively, exploring the origins of popular fairy tales. She visited places such as Sababurg Castle, where Sleeping Beauty slept for 100 years, and Trendelburg Castle, where Rapunzel let down her long hair. Mrs. Wiggins’s journey helped her gain an understanding of how places can inspire and dictate which stories emerge and why these stories hold such power and sway over the imaginations of adults and children today. Using what she learned, Ms. Wiggins will incorporate the original versions of these fairy tales into the library curriculum.

    Blog

Travel Blogs 2017

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Travel Blogs 2016

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2024 Travel Fellows

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About the Program

Curtis School introduced the Curtis Educational Travel Fellowship Program in 2016, offering faculty members grants for study and travel in the US or abroad. The program aims to transform teachers into information consumers and education innovators, fostering global, innovative education for 21st-century skills. Teachers are vital in empowering students as global citizens and innovative thinkers. Applicants must propose travel experiences that enrich their curriculum and teaching methods. The program encourages partnerships with research facilities or educational organizations domestically or internationally. Curtis School is committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and global collaboration in education and eagerly looks forward to sharing the experiences of its faculty members through blogs, social media, and published reports that appear in the Curtis Magazine.

Curtis School

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