5 teachers to get close to history
JACKSON TWP — Five Seneca Valley School District educators will join the Classrooms Without Borders program next summer.
Seneca Valley Foundation’s board of trustees agreed to fund these teachers’ attendance on Wednesday.
The selected educators will have the opportunity to travel to Poland or Greece for two weeks during the summer to study the Holocaust and bring the experience back to the Seneca Valley School District.
“Classrooms Without Borders summer seminars are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our teachers,” Superintendent Tracy Vitale said. “There aren’t a lot of Holocaust survivors left; therefore, to be presented with an opportunity to walk with them in places like Poland or Greece and discuss their experience is unparalleled to any classroom study.”
A Classrooms Without Borders representative will offer two informational session for interested educators Tuesday — one for secondary teachers from 2:50 to 3:20 p.m.; and one for elementary teachers from 4:10 to 4:40 p.m.
Educators do not need to be history teachers to be considered for this opportunity.
“I believe this experience will benefit most of our students as our teachers will bring this experience back to their classrooms,” Vitale said.
A majority of the costs will be subsidized by the Classrooms Without Borders nonprofit, except for $1,500 which has been offered by the Seneca Valley Foundation on a first-come, first-served basis.
“We are honored that the Classrooms Without Borders program has approached our district about this opportunity,” Vitale said. “We are very fortunate that the Seneca Valley Foundation has agreed to support the program.”
The program, run by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, is touted as giving a “first-person perspective (to) teachers (for) greater appreciation of their subject of study and specialty.”
The purpose of the travel experience is to grant educators exposure to “rigorous content, scholarly readings, renowned speakers, exhibits, arts and direct applications to classroom instruction.”
For more information, visit http://classroomswithoutborders.org.
