ALBANY, N.Y. March 26, 2018 — Four New York teachers are embarking on a year-long professional development program in Peru, India and Senegal as Fulbright Fellows through the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program — an initiative that will equip them to bring an international perspective to their hometown schools through targeted training.
The four New York teachers are among 76 teachers selected for the national program, which is funded by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
NYSUT President Andy Pallotta praised the teachers for seeking new challenges that will benefit their students and their local communities. “Highly skilled educators like these four teachers can empower students as global citizens, and bring an international perspective to their schools,” he said. “This is a
win-win-win for students, teachers and local communities here and abroad.”
The New York teachers named as Fulbright Fellows are:
Phillip Moshoyannis, Hicksville
Moshoyannis will be serving in Peru. Moshoyannis has been teaching fourth and fifth grade at the Lee Avenue School for the past 22 years. He has also served as a vice president of the Hicksville Congress of Teachers. As a teacher in a multicultural classroom, Moshoyannis — a former National Guard officer deployed after 9/11 — said his year-long endeavor will allow him to gain insight into the transformative nature of global education and help him better serve his students and community.
Noel Folts, Dansville
Folts has been teaching English as a Second Language and French at Dansville High School south of Rochester for 10 years. She has taught K-12 students of all English levels from Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as grades 7-10 French students. She is leader of the school Garden Club, sophomore class advisor and film series coordinator for the language department. In her stint in Senegal, Folts will explore how foreign languages are taught in other countries while broadening her understanding of global perspectives in politics, culture and the arts in order to enhance rural education at home.
Seth Guinals-Kupperman, Brooklyn
Guinals-Kupperman has worked for the New York City Department of Education as a physics teacher for 15 years. He currently teaches at the Brooklyn Latin School. As a product of public education and a native New Yorker, he has a strong sense of commitment to give something back to the city and its students. Seth has a passion for both physics and physics education, participating and leading professional development opportunities. He will teach in India.
Richard Johnson, Bronx
Johnson is a fifth-grade special education teacher at PS 105 in the Bronx. He also serves on the curriculum team, co-writing the ELA curriculum for the fifth grade, and has helped coach the PS 105 chess team to 28 tournament championships in the last five years. Johnson will be teaching in Peru, where he hopes to increase his global perspective so he can better serve the increasingly diverse immigrant community at his school.
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.