Fifty U.S. Teachers Win Toyota-Sponsored Study Trip to Japan
24 May 2000
Fifty U.S. Teachers Win Toyota-Sponsored Study Trip to Japan
TORRANCE, Calif., May 23 The Institute of International
Education has announced the winners of a Toyota-sponsored competition that
will bring 50 U.S. high school teachers to Japan this summer for an
educational and cultural study program.
Broad in scope, the intensive 14-day Toyota International Teacher Program
will take the selected teachers beyond the lecture halls of Japan into
schools, homes, factories, commercial districts, residential neighborhoods,
historic monuments and shrines throughout the country.
The educators were chosen from hundreds of applicants competing for the
all-expense-paid study trip offered through the annual $550,000 Toyota
philanthropic program.
Funded by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) and administered by the
Institute of International Education, the nation's largest non-profit
educational exchange organization, the international teacher program was
established in 1998. The merit-based competition is open to high school
teachers in California, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and West
Virginia -- six U.S. states where Toyota operates major facilities.
"The teachers who experience this study program are gaining an
international understanding in an era of increasing globalization," said James
E. Press, TMS executive vice president. "They are sharing this knowledge and
insight with their students and colleagues and in some cases, developing ties
between American and Japanese high schools. We commend the teachers selected
this year for their plans to incorporate what they learn abroad into their
teaching at home."
The program, which takes place June 8 through June 23, will combine
lectures from top Japanese scholars, government officials and business
executives with a firsthand look at the country's cultural, educational and
industrial institutions.
The American teachers will tour factories, including a Toyota
manufacturing plant in Toyota City, and learn about the evolution of Japan's
technology and industrial development. They will visit primary and secondary
schools, observe classrooms, communicate with students and teachers, meet with
a Japanese PTA group and be the guests of Tokyo families.
Allan Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education, said
the Toyota International Teacher Program is designed to give participants an
in-depth look at the country of Japan and its people.
"The program not only builds capacity among the teachers, it also enhances
a global perspective. The participating teachers come away with a profound
sense of the mosaic of Japanese society, as well as the importance of the ties
between the United States and Japan, one of the most critical global
relationships," Goodman said.
The study trip will give the teachers experiences as wide-ranging as a
Sumo wrestling practice and a stay at a traditional Japanese inn to a tour of
a Tokyo neighborhood with an innovative rain recycling program. Their travels
also will take them to cultural and historical sites in Tokyo, Nagoya,
Hiroshima, Kameoka and Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital.
The Toyota International Teacher Program strengthens the company's
longstanding commitment to supporting education. In 1999 alone Toyota
contributed $16.9 million to American philanthropic programs, with more than
60 percent going to education. Besides donating to a wide range of
educational organizations, TMS has created its own innovative programs,
including grants for science and math teachers, scholarships for students,
technical training and family literacy programs.
* list of teacher participants follows
2000 PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS
(by state)
CALIFORNIA
Name Home City School & Location
Sheri L. Binswanger Westwood Westwood Junior Senior High
School
Westwood, CA
Marianne L. Clarke Huntington Beach, Westminster High School
CA Westminster, CA
Edward W. Cotter Menlo Park, CA Menlo-Atherton High School
Atherton, CA
Frank V. Divinagracia Redondo Beach Leuzinger High School
Lawndale, CA
Mary T. Duggan San Diego San Dieguito High School
Academy
Encinitas, CA
Monica H. Funes Modesto Central Catholic High School
Modesto, CA
Phillip L. Jelinek Anaheim Monrovia High School
Monrovia, CA
Albert Y. Jeung Mission Viejo Aliso Niguel High School
Aliso Viejo, CA
John P. Laue Sunland Anderson W. Clark Magnet
High School
La Crescenta, CA
Rene Mendoza Hollister Gilroy High School
Gilroy, CA
Todd A. Pavel San Francisco Mercy High College
Preparatory
San Francisco, CA
Rachel Rubin-Green Los Angeles Culver City High School
Culver City, CA
Malcolm Singer Oakland San Francisco University
High School
San Francisco, CA
Betty B. Tillman Oakland Raoul Wallenberg Traditional
High School
San Francisco, CA
INDIANA
Jean M. Ballard Ferdinand Marian Heights Academy
Ferdinand, IN
Gregory J. Blackwell Indianapolis Carmel High School
Carmel, IN
Pamela G. Boyer-Johnson Newburgh William Henry Harrison High
School
Evansville, IN
Ann M. Burke Bloomington Bloomington High School
South
Bloomington, IN
Nora A. Malle Wawaka Central Noble High School
Albion, IN
Lois R. Smith Boonville Castle High School
Newburgh, IN
John D. Thompson New Castle New Castle Chrysler High
School
New Castle, IN
KENTUCKY
Charles Chrisman Williamsburg Williamsburg High School
Williamsburg, KY
Elizabeth R. McIntosh Covington Simon Kenton High School
Independence, KY
Judith M. Painter Lexington Tates Creek High School
Lexington, KY
Thomas R. Pyron Clinton Fulton County Area
Technology Center
Hickman, KY
Richard A. Royster Lexington Paul Laurence Dunbar High
School
Lexington, KY
Daniel J. Zoeller Louisville Trinity High School
Louisville, KY
MICHIGAN
L. Boyle Beaver Island Beaver Island Community
School
Beaver Island, MI
Keith F. Forton Traverse City Traverse City Central Senior
High School
Traverse City, MI
Julie E. Frohlich W. Bloomfield Troy Athens High School
Troy, MI
Olive L. Horning Fenton Fenton Senior High School
Fenton, MI
John Kovalchuck Warren Lincoln High School
Warren, MI
Gayle L. Main Okemos Okemos High School
Okemos, MI
Janet Ostendarp East Lansing Webberville
Reifenberg High School
Webberville, MI
Daniel J. Schab Lansing Williamston High School
Williamston, MI
MISSOURI
Juanita Chambers St. Louis Gateway Institute of
Technology
St. Louis, MO
Jedda L. Farrell Arnold Seckman High School
Imperial, MO
Susan E. Gibisier Springfield Parkview High School
Springfield, MO
Cynthia J. Herman Wildwood Clayton High School
Clayton, MO
Stephen H. Klawiter St. Louis Lafayette High School
Eureka, MO
Eric D. Matzat Branson Branson High School
Branson, MO
Michele C. Perrin St. Louis Nerinx Hall (Archdiocese of
St. Louis)
St. Louis, MO
Lorene C. Rogers Kansas City Park Hill High School
St. Louis, MO
WEST VIRGINIA
Anita S. Deck Crab Orchard Liberty High School
Beckley, WV
Robin N. Follet Wheeling The Linsly School
Wheeling, WV
Donna M. Knotts Pickens Pickens School
Elkins, WV
Harriet L. Kopp Gerrardstown Musselman High School
Martinsburg, WV
William E. Mann Charlton Heights Clay County High School
Clay, WV
Joyce A. McGeehan Bethany Brooke High School
Wellsburg, WV
Rebecca L. McLaughlin Charleston Sissonville High School
Charleston, WV