(Post 1b: extended details)

Maybe you’re considering a sabbatical, or wondering why I chose to go for Fulbright. For my fine-print friends, read on if you want Alllll The Details:

Feelings felt: overload, determination, patience, pride, focus, hope

Catalyst

Every teacher wants to find ways to best serve our students, so we differentiate: modifying lessons to suit below-benchmark readers, advanced math abilities, IEP and 504 plans, behavioral needs, and so on. On top of these common considerations, I also accommodate all levels of English development. You see, for the past several years, I have been blessed to teach students from multiple home-language backgrounds in my second-grade classroom – I’m neither a language specialist nor ESOL-certified, but I work with up to ten languages simultaneously. Year after year, I’ve witnessed children struggle to acclimate to unfamiliar cultural and school routines while also trying to learn a new language, plus follow the regular curriculum.

I found myself trying to develop tools that would help newly-immigrated children immediately feel at ease and participate in meaningful ways; tools they could sometimes use independently, while I kept lessons moving for two dozen others… I wanted to compile a stash of ready-to-go materials to eliminate the need for translations on the fly; templates that could be re-used, rather than designed from scratch with each new language. But as any teacher knows, there just wasn’t time. I kept thinking how wonderful it would be to have time. I began toying with the idea of a research sabbatical, but there was still the issue of funding…

The Dream Takes Shape

What if there was a way to find both time and money to focus on becoming a better teacher? Were there donors for educators to conduct research? I had heard of Fulbright awards but associated them with university scholars. Still, I started digging: I discovered two categories for practicing educators. One involved short-term international placements in groups, but the other sounded like exactly what I needed: extended time and funding for research! The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research program enables educators to take a deep dive into projects that will directly benefit practice. The application window would open the following month, January 2025. I had my work cut out but was determined to give it a go!

I spent the bulk of Christmas break learning about countries involved and their educational systems, quickly narrowing relevant prospects down to two: Finland and the UK. Finland offers programs to help expats become fluent in official languages, and even young Finnish students are typically multilingual. UK schools primarily teach in English, yet students speak hundreds of home languages — two-thirds of Londoners were born outside the country. This aligned better with my own classroom composition and primary language – so the UK it was!

I worked dozens of hours on my proposal, culling and revising until it became a practical plan with solid purpose. (Let me take a moment to thank loved ones and colleagues for support during those weeks: reference letters, encouragement, reading over drafts, and making sure I ate!) I submitted in February and began the first waiting period, trying not to hope too hard!

Becoming Reality

A member of IREX – the organization overseeing application logistics for the US Department of State – called to notify me that I had advanced to next round and would interview with UK Commissions in May. Final recipients are normally announced in June, but there were delays with funding and approvals across the Fulbright suite… so we kept waiting! On August 1, I received the incredible news that I had been selected as one of 14 educators to receive the Fulbright DA; I would be spending five months in the UK in 2026.

From then on, my schedule was intense! Our cohort was assigned Stateside advisors, who hosted meetings to discuss research practices. We also met with IREX reps and previous Fulbrighters. I was teaching full-time, preparing to turn my class over to a long-term sub, and trying (but failing) to negotiate with my district to keep health insurance coverage. I was also prepping my house for caretakers, while securing housing in an unfamiliar and exorbitantly-expensive city from 4000 miles away! I applied for visas and considered DBS (UK background checks, similar to our FBI) and ethics processes. It was overwhelming, yet exhilarating!

It’s been so nice to have my cohort through it all. Now we’re cheering each other on via WhatsApp, from placements in 12 countries around the world. I look forward to seeing what we achieve, separately and together, for the good of education!