Waiakea High librarian a Global Learning Fellow

The National Education Association Foundation named Deborah Anderson, a library media specialist at Waiakea Intermediate School, as one of 48 public school educators to become a member of this year’s class of Global Learning Fellows.

Anderson will spend a year building global competency skills (the capacity to understand and act on issues of global significance). The fellows will meet this fall for a two-day workshop, and next summer, they’ll take part in an international field study, where they will experience all aspects of the culture including school visits and learn with and from local educators.

As a result of the fellowship, Anderson will be better equipped to prepare students for global citizenship. Fellows also create valuable global lesson plans that are freely shared with educators across the nation and the world through open-source platforms.

“As a librarian, I want my teachers and I to mentor students toward understanding and acting on matters of global significance,” Anderson said. “I’m looking for more skills to prepare middle school teachers and students to be globally competent.”

The class was selected from more than 400 applicants nationwide. The new fellows teach all grade levels and all subjects, from visual and performing arts to agri-science, vocational studies and history. They come from rural, suburban and urban schools.

They are National Board Certified, curriculum coaches, IB coordinators, foreign language speakers and more. Some have participated in similar programs, and some have never traveled abroad. The diverse cohort will allow educators to learn from each other and bring global perspectives to a wide range of students.