Four educators headed to the Dominican Republic for cultural education

Four educators are heading to the Dominican Republic this summer as part of a program from Cenet, the Cultural Exchange Network, in Cape Girardeau.

Culture in the Classroom is a program Cenet has provided since 2011, bringing international visitors to area classrooms to provide authentic, cultural education, at no cost to the districts.

Now, Cenet is taking the program one step further: providing a travel opportunity for four educators, with Intentional Tours travel company.

Cultural Classroom will provide orientation, travel expenses and workshops on cultural programming, to help educators bring the cultural experience back to the classrooms, said Leslie Corn, senior director of Cenet.

Selected educators are:

• Seth Mayes, fifth-grade teacher at Chaffee
• Erica Robbins, Intro to Foreign Languages teacher at Jackson
• James "Andy" Tilman, social studies teacher at New Madrid
• April Garner, principal at Franklin Elementary in Cape Girardeau

Corn said the selection process was tough, as each applicant was "outstanding," but Cenet formed a six-person selection committee that chose 10 finalists, and after interviews, the committee selected the top four.

The team was impressed by the applications received, Corn said. "We had planned to select only three, but ultimately chose four educators," she said.

"We look forward to meeting with the educators before and after their program with Intentional Tours," Corn said. "We want them to have a wonderful experience and we hope it will inspire greater cultural programming within their classrooms."

Jonathan Coleman, executive director of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, economic development organization ASSETS, and co-founder of Intentional Tours with wife Kate, said he cannot overstate the impact of his time living and working abroad.

Coleman grew up in Jackson and before age 21, had never been on a plane or out of the country.

His first trips abroad were a summer in the Dominican Republic, then a semester in Israel and the West Bank.

More global travel "challenged my preconceptions and upended my worldview, and I am so much better off for it," Coleman said.

He credits travel with an improved leadership style and career, and a more thoughtful and intentional home life, and said he hopes participants in this program can reap similar benefits.

Cenet is a not-for-profit organization in the Marquette Tech District in Cape Girardeau. In addition to Culture in the Community, Cenet is authorized by the U.S. State Department to sponsor the Exchange Visitor Program. Cenet also facilitates The Magellan Exchange, a study abroad program for faculty and staff from universities worldwide, including Southeast Missouri State University.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630