TT teacher honoured for skills as international educator

Those are a few of the reasons Mohammed, a visiting special education teacher, was named South Carolina cultural educator of the year Friday for excellence in educating US students about the world beyond their borders.

She was one of a few Lowcountry educators recognised by the Visiting International Faculty programme, the nation’s largest international-exchange programme for schools and teachers.

David Colwell, principal of North Charleston High School, was named South Carolina principal of the year along with Pearl Jeffords, principal of Darlington High School in Darlington County.

Colwell, a longtime supporter of the programme, hired nine teachers through the Visiting International Faculty programme, and he and his staff went out of their way to support international teachers in and out of school, said Ned Glascock, a programme spokesman. The Charleston County School District was named South Carolina district of the year after it added 25 international teachers this year for a total of 56. In the past five years, the school district has hired more than 200 international teachers.

The human resources office, district office staff and school principals were tremendous in their support and friendship to the visiting teachers to ensure they and their host schools have rewarding experiences, Glascock said.

The Visiting International Faculty programme also sponsors 17 teachers in Berkeley County schools and 169 teachers across the state. Nationally, the programme sponsors more than 1,700 highly qualified teachers from 55 nations in more than 1,000 schools in ten states.

Other principals recognised for excellence in international education were: Derrick Daniels, principal at St Stephens Middle School; Ed Tichi, principal at Charlestowne Academy; Kenneth Wilson, principal at St. Johns High School; Karen Hollinshead-Brown, principal at Ellington Elementary School; and James Winbush, principal at Baptist Hill High School.

Mohammed, who won educator of the year, will return home at the end of this school year after three years in Charleston County schools.

After 26 years as an educator in Trinidad and Tobago, Mohammed said she wanted to come to the United States to enhance her education and get more practical knowledge about special education.

She wanted to learn more about diagnosing children with special needs and how to plan programmes for them, she said.

Without this programme, she said, she couldn’t have left her country and legally worked there.

She was surprised at how little students knew about her country, and she said she tried to teach them as much as she could.

As she prepares to return home, she said she’s taking back good memories and valuable information.

“I will be able to contribute to the educational needs of children in my country,” she said.