ASD Staff Study Abroad in Ecuador

Miss Putz and Mrs. Severson in front of a waterfall in Ecuador
ASD Staff Study Abroad in Ecuador
A group of twelve U.S. K–16 educators and graduate and undergraduate university students were selected to participate in a four-week Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) to Ecuador in the summer of 2022. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Education and supported by Winona State University.
 
Two Arcadia School District staff members were among the participants that have been selected for the program: Jenna Putz is an EL teacher at Arcadia Middle School, and Kim Severson is a social studies and EL teacher at Arcadia High School.
 
Program participants:
  • studied the Kichwa language at the novice level with 40 hours of instruction
  • explored Andean culture, cosmology, and the Ecuadorian educación bilingüe intercultural system through workshops and lectures from guest speakers
  • enjoyed immersive experiences via excursions to the cloud forest and other historic and cultural sites
  • collaborated with their peers and designed a science/social studies mini unit alongside an Ecuadorian teacher at a Kichwa-Spanish bilingual school
Participants were able to immediately observe their curriculum being taught to Ecuadorian students and then bring it back to share and teach in U.S. schools. In preparation for the trip, participants engaged in 16 hours of pre-service training, and after the trip, participants will publish the lesson plans they've created and present their experience, either within their district or at a professional conference.
 
The Fulbright-Hays Group Project to Ecuador was directed by Dr. Linda D'Amico, cultural anthropologist, and Dr. Mary Hudgens-Henderson, bilingual education specialist, who both teach in the Department of Global Studies and World Languages at Winona State University.

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