Chi-Ann Lin has brought much more than book learning to her teaching of East Asian Studies at Staples High School in Westport.

Since joining the faculty in 2001, she has traveled extensively across Asia. She has been accepted into study programs that have taken her to Japan, South Korea, China, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Indonesia. She has soaked up the history and culture of these countries, enriching her classes with knowledge that can be gained only by firsthand experience.

We honored Ms. Lin with an Alma Exley Scholarship in 1999. Since then, I have enjoyed hearing about her travels when we met at our annual receptions and meetings of the selection committee, on which she has served for several years.

But I thought this was a good time to call her and learn more about how her globetrotting has broadened her experience and enriched her classes.

When Ms. Lin began her career in the classroom, she asked to teach East Asian Studies. She thought this would enable her to delve more deeply into this important subject – and also to learn more about her own ethnic background.

Ms. Lin was raised in Alabama and Connecticut by parents who had come from China and Taiwan before meeting in New York City. She attended Newington High School and graduated with honors from the five-year program at the University of Connecticut in 2001.

After taking the position in Westport, she applied to the Fulbright Memorial Fund and was chosen for the program that took her to Japan in 2007 with 200 other American teachers. She spent three weeks in Tokyo and Himeji, learning about Japanese history, politics, education and culture. Returning home, she created a blog for her students. Her extensive photos and commentary stimulated lively discussions in her classroom.

“That’s when I got the travel bug,” she said, explaining that she continued to apply for foreign study programs. During the summer of 2008, Ms. Lin participated in a Yale PIER (Programs in International Educational Resources) Institute focusing on the Silk Road, a major, ancient trade route across China. After attending lectures at Yale, she visited western China and returned home via stops in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Istanbul, Turkey.

The next summer she participated in a two-week Korean Studies Workshop based at Yonsei University in Seoul.

Finally, in the summer of 2010, she spent over a month in Indonesia with a Fulbright Hays Group Project Abroad. This enabled her to visit several islands of the archipelago, and stay at an Islamic boarding school.

“In Japan, I learned about the impact of Confucianism on the culture,” she said. “Traveling to western China and Indonesia opened my eyes to the presence of Islam in Asia.”

Experiences gained in her travels have inspired new ideas for her teaching and new perspectives on history and culture to share with her students.

“As an Asian American, I feel an obligation to offer my students an accurate and meaningful curriculum to help them learn about a region that is sometimes misunderstood,” she said.

“Each year, more Asian American students have enrolled in the East Asian Studies course,” she said. “They want to get a better understanding of their culture and history, and I believe that my travels have helped me to give them a more meaningful learning experience.”

Ms. Lin said that one of the most important lessons she has learned as a teacher is the importance of being a lifelong learner. She hopes to continue exploring the world and sharing her newfound knowledge with her students.

And she urges other teachers to take advantage of the kind of programs that have benefited her. “There are a lot of programs out there,” she said. “They can make a big difference in bringing a fresh approach to the classroom.” Her programs were fully funded by the sponsoring organizations, except for the Indonesia and Silk Road trips, for which she paid part of the cost.

Each of our Alma Exley Scholars is having an impact in a way that is unique to their individual interests and talents. I’m proud of all of them, and I’m glad this website gives me the opportunity to let you know what they are accomplishing in their diverse careers.

– Woody Exley

Posted September 8, 2011

I was pleased to learn that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has called attention to the need for more teachers of color in our nation’s public schools.

His remarks came during a speech at a gathering of educators from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBU) at North Carolina Central University on June 3.

Duncan urged the educators to take the lead in “training a new generation of minority students, especially black males, to teach in our nation’s public schools.”

Acknowledging that most HBCUs were established a century ago to train black teachers, he said that black educators in the South used to have a saying about the importance of teachers: “As is the teacher, so is the school.”

“Our elders were absolutely right,” Duncan said. “As all of you know, talent matters tremendously in the classroom, and that is why recruiting and training a new generation of great teachers is essential to closing the achievement gap.”

He quoted Ambrose Caliver, the first African-American research specialist hired by the U.S. Office of Education, who wrote 75 years ago: “In the hands of the Negro teachers rests the destiny of the race.”

Said Duncan, “Every day, African-American teachers are doing extraordinary work in helping to close the achievement gap. Yet we also know that children of color have too few teachers of color.

“Nationwide, more than 35 percent of public school students are black or Hispanic, but less than 15 percent of our teachers are black or Latino. It is especially troubling that less than two percent of our nation’s 3.2 million teachers are African-American males.

“On average, roughly 200,000 new teachers are hired a year in America-and just 4,500 of them are black males. It is not good for any of our country’s children that only one in 50 teachers is a black man.

“When I was CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, I visited too many elementary schools that did not have a single black male teacher, though most of the students were black and grew up in single-parent families. How can that be a good thing for young children, especially boys?

“The under-representation of African-American men in the teaching profession is a serious problem. And it is not self-correcting. Our children need you. Your schools of education can, and must, help us solve this national crisis.”

Secretary Duncan’s remarks were most welcome. He deserves credit for putting the spotlight on this issue from his highly visible position in the Obama Administration.

The Alma Exley Scholarship Program has been addressing this issue since 1996 by recognizing and supporting outstanding college students of color who are preparing for careers as teachers. Our honorees are making a difference in classrooms in Connecticut and across the country.

Please join us in providing this recognition and support by clicking here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Click here to read the entire speech by Secretary Arne Duncan.
– Woody Exley

Posted August 14, 2010

For me, the most enjoyable and rewarding aspect of being involved with the Alma Exley Scholarship Program is getting to know the recipients and following their careers.

This came to mind recently when I read about the results of the Connecticut Mastery Test. This is the test of reading, writing and mathematics given each year to the state’s public school children in grades three through eight.

The results showed that Hartford Public Schools made impressive gains during the 2009-2010 academic year. In a breakdown of the results, I noticed that the most improved elementary school in 2009-2010 was America’s Choice at SAND School.

As you may know, the principal of SAND School is Desi Nesmith, the Alma Exley Scholarship recipient of 2000. As the results were announced, Mr. Nesmith was completing his first year as a principal.

Students at SAND School achieved an overall index score of 50.8 in 2009-2010, an increase of 14.8 points from the previous year. This was the biggest jump for any of the city’s 23 elementary schools. In fact, SAND School made a great leap from its position as the lowest-scoring elementary school in the city in 2008-2009.

SAND School is located on North Main Street in one of the poorest neighborhoods of one of the poorest cities in the nation.

How did the school make such progress? According to Mr. Nesmith, it had to do with taking a fresh look at the school’s curriculum and organization and making big changes.

“We redesigned the school on a new model that focused kids on reading and writing more than ever,” Mr. Nesmith said. The redesign included lengthening the school day and involving students in a daily 2½-hour “literacy block,” he said.

“This hard work could not have occurred without the A-Team that is in place at SAND,” he said. “I have a very dedicated and highly skilled team of teachers and staff who came to SAND to make a change in the academic lives of these students.”

At the age of 31, Mr. Nesmith could be one of the youngest – if not the youngest – school principals in Connecticut. Prior to assuming this leadership position in 2009, he was an intervention resource specialist with the Hartford Schools. In that capacity, he served as a mentor to teachers in struggling elementary schools throughout the city.

Previously, he was selected as a Teacher in Residence at the State Department of Education. In that role, he worked on a number of school-improvement initiatives across the state. He began his career as a fifth-grade teacher at Mayberry Elementary School in East Hartford, where he was named Teacher of the Year in 2005-2006.

He was honored with an Alma Exley Scholarship while a student at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. A native of Bloomfield, he graduated from Northwest Catholic High School.

In choosing Mr. Nesmith for a scholarship, the selection committee was tremendously impressed with his accomplishments and his commitment to education. At the time, we were convinced that he showed promise to become an outstanding educator. Speaking for the committee, we’re delighted to see that he is fulfilling our expectations.

Mr. Nesmith is just one of many Alma Exley Scholars who are making us proud. Stay tuned for updates on the careers of others in this remarkable fraternity.
– Woody Exley

Posted August 14, 2010