As COVID-19 continues to spread, these are challenging times for people around the world. We want to take the time to express gratitude to everyone who helped support our educator exchange experience. Although it was shorter than expected, we are grateful that all of the educators were able to return home safely and in good health to South Africa just before restrictions were put in place.
As we’ve entered this time of lockdowns and unknowns, the educator exchange has been something joyful and positive to hold on to. The two weeks the educators spent in Bay Area schools were formative and impactful.
While South Africans remain in lockdown, some of the interns who have access to the internet have been reaching out to express their gratitude for the experience. As Musa Mathye wrote, “I would like to thank the Teach With Africa organization and Global Teachers Institute for making the trip possible, even though it was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was a valuable experience. Not meeting my goal doesn’t mean that I learned nothing but I made use of the time I had to learn and teach as much as I could at CSB.”
We would like to sincerely thank everyone who made the 2020 Educator Exchange meaningful, including…
The host families who opened their homes and their hearts to our 2020 cohort:
The Mina Family
Eugene Lemon
Ellen Lake & Bill Hoerger
The DeClercq Family
The Forde Family
The Makan Family
The Chee Family
The Beaudoins
The host families who were willing to open their homes and hearts to our 2020 cohort but did not have the opportunity to do so:
DeAnn and Paul Work
Sharon Olken & Nancy Chetaitis
Katie & Reed Colley
Anne Funsten
Heather & Chris Howard
Allison & Alexander Wong
Rachel and Dave Hollister
Jeannie Pettigrew
The host school communities and liaisons who welcomed, shared with, and learned from our 2020 intern educators:
Berkwood Hedge Elementary
Cathedral School for Boys
Gateway Middle School
Gateway High School
The Hamlin School
Katherine Delmar Burke School
Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary
Town School for Boys
The individuals and organizations that planned events to enrich the intern educators’ experiences while in the Bay Area:
* Eugene Lemon and the Hidden Genius Project
* Shane Carter and UC Berkeley Office of Resources for International and Area Studies (ORIAS)
* Bill Hoerger, Jose Padilla, Deborah Escobedo, Cynthia Rice, Mary Hernandez, and Katie Riggs
