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Celebrating 10 Years of Global Leadership

Bringing The World Back To Our Students:

THE GLOBAL EDUCATOR CERTIFICATE

LEARN ABOUT OTHER CULTURES

Certificate candidates are required to study the language of at least one of their chosen travel destinations. They also prepare a pre-departure journal to research and explore questions and initial impressions.

DEVELOP AS A GLOBAL CITIZEN

The certificate candidates visit at least two different countries and cultures (different defined by language and geographic distance). They make efforts to visit both urban and rural areas, local schools, and stay with host families to fully experience many aspects of the travel locations.

SHARE EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, AND INSIGHTS

While traveling, certificate candidates document their experiences through photos and videos. They share a travel blog while on their journeys to stay in touch with the Providence Day community in real time.

ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO SEEK GLOBAL EXPERIENCES

Once home, the certificate candidates share their travel experiences through lesson plans that teach the value of their travel and presentations to students, teachers, and parents. They inspire others to begin developing their own global citizenship.

Lower School World Language Teacher
Mary Jo Adams with an unidentified adult female standing in front of a red wall with an eagle logo

Mary Jo Adams

Received GEC: 2018
Travel Locations: Cadiz, Sevilla Spain, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, all throughout Europe, Korea, Japan and many other countries

Meeting new people and making connections for myself and my students. Experiencing and sharing different ways of teaching and learning. Revitalized and energized my own teaching and learning.

Lower School Teacher
Ann Hannah wearing a niqab made out of a scarf with buildings and the sandy terrain of Morocco behind her

Ann Hannah

Received GEC: 2017
Travel Locations: China, Morocco, Netherlands, France, Spain, Barbados, and Scotland

I have visited countries that I probably wouldn't have gone to on my own. I traveled in a Muslim country during Ramadan and learned so much about Muslims and Morocco.

Upper School Head Librarian
Nicole Collins selfie in Nepal with two young female Nepalese students and an unidentified woman behind Nicole

Nicole Collins

Received GEC: 2017
Travel Locations: Scotland, England, Qatar, Nepal, Wales, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Azores (Portugal)

Once a month I attend the first grade community meeting and tell a story. Each month they focus on a different country and I share a folktale from that region. Stories are used to preserve culture, educate and entertain. What better way to introduce a new country than through story

Upper School Fine Arts Teacher
Richard Dewey outdoors and painting with a canvas on an easel in the countryside of France with students

Richard Dewey

Received GEC: 2017
Travel Locations: Spain, France, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Holland, Honduras, Italy, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Vatican City

With my trips to Spain in 2014 and France in 2016, I was able to see firsthand a great deal of amazing and historically significant works of art and architecture, and these are experiences I will never forget. Overall, I gained a much better understanding of all of the artists I investigated, as well as of Spanish culture in general.

World Language Teacher
Georgette LePage in Paris with the Eiffel Tower behind her

Georgette LePage

Received GEC: 2011
Travel Locations: Mexico, France, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Canada, Germany, and Belgium

Being a World Language teacher, it continues to be a critical piece of my ongoing learning of culture and language, as well as real life speaking situations which improve my skills.

Upper School Learning Specialist
Shelley Mikszan standing on The Great Wall of China

Shelley Mikszan

Received GEC: 2017
Travel Locations: New Zealand, China, and Belize

My trip to China has been especially beneficial in helping our international students transition to Providence Day School since I now have a more thorough understanding of the classroom environment and culture they are coming from.

Lower School World Language Teacher
Erin Bolden in Paris at the Louvre with the glass pyramid behind her

Erin Bolden

Received GEC: 2010
Travel Locations: France, Mexico, and Israel

In 5th Grade, I teach a large unit about traveling to Paris, using the Métro, getting from one place to another, planning itineraries, and much more. My various trips to Paris at the end of the French exchange experience have been invaluable to me as I have tried to share my love of Paris with my students. All of the trips that I have taken have given me more confidence as a world language educator.

Upper School Science Teacher
Michelle Sebastian outdoors in Costa Rica with four young female students

Michelle Sebastian

Received GEC: 2013 
Travel Locations: Costa Rica, Israel, and Italy

It increased my awareness of how different, yet similar we all are. The educational systems in other countries may be different than ours, but the goals are the same. And 'different' has delightful advantages.

Lower School Computer Science Teacher
Pam Heacock outdoors in Costa Rica with two female students

Pam Heacock

Received GEC: 2010 
Travel Locations: Costa Rica and Denmark

I had never traveled overseas before my GEC trips. I am able to relate and have conversations about global subjects with an educated view now. I also gleaned a great deal about life outside of the US. My trip to Costa Rica provided an opportunity to participate in a service event. Teaching English to an underprivileged community was life changing.

Middle School Mathematics Teacher
Randy Sienkowski in a Singapore classroom with four Singapore students
Randy Sienkowski
Received GEC: 2015 
Travel Locations: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Honduras, Israel, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur

In Singapore, there was...an opportunity to focus on curricular issues. The schools in Singapore are very successful, so it was interesting to see what they might do differently from us. The PDS Lower School has adapted the American version of Singapore math, so we had a very special interest in how math is taught there.

Lower School Teacher
Katie Carmichael on The Great Wall of China

Katie Carmichael

Received GEC: 2007 
Travel Locations: China and Spain

Since finishing my GEC, I have increased the amount of travel I have done personally and it has broadened my worldview. In teaching second grade, our social studies curriculum is about the continents and I feel that my instruction about the continents that I have visited or taught on is much more personal. I am glad to have traveled to 6 out of the 7 continents and taught on two continents besides North America.

Lower School Teacher
Susanne Reid with young Honduran girl touching Susanne's blonde hair

Susanne Reid

Received GEC: 2010 
Travel Locations: Honduras and Turkey

We witnessed the ceremony of “Passing The Gift” which is when one community member passes on an animal to another member of their community. The animals provide nutrition and income for the families.  After our trip to Honduras, we created lessons to help students learn more about Honduras and introduce students to Heifer International, an organization that helps families in need in the US and around the world. 

Middle School Science Teacher
Sarah Goodman standing in a jungle by a sign that reads %22ReNuPeRu Ethnobotanical Garden%22

Sarah Goodman

Received GEC: 2015 
Travel Locations: Peru and Iceland

[My experience] has increased my passion traveling and experiencing the world with students. I yearn to share a global vision with my students and get them involved in the environment through global learning. It has inspired me to take on a new conservation club which will combine wildlife and environmental conservation. 

Middle School Physical Education Teacher
Alex Warber in front of large, ornate building

Alex Warber

Received GEC: 2016 
Travel Locations: Belize, Spain, Bahamas, Jamaica, & Mexico

One example [of student benefits] is showing the students back at PDS the volunteer work we accomplished over at St. Jude's school in Belize. We helped build a cement fence to make their school a safer environment for the community. Showing the work and seeing how happy the faculty, students, and community members were impacted the students that did not go on the trip to help globally in some way.

Head of Middle School
Head of Middle School Michael Magno standing in front of Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro

Michael Magno

Received GEC: 2016 
Travel Locations: Rio de Janeiro and Madrid

I have enjoyed working with coaches/educators from different countries, but more importantly visiting another country with a group of students to provide a unique experience.

Upper School Mathematics Teacher
Upper School mathematics teacher Neely Gutierrez posing with a kangaroo

Neely Gutierrez

Received GEC: 2016 
Travel Locations: South Africa, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and Czech Republic

March of 2015 I had the opportunity to scout a trip for a future course to be taught in Australia. As I posted on my #pdsaustralia Instagram and I have no idea who said it..."Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

Middle & Upper School World Language Teacher
Lucie Bridgland at a school table with others in either Martinique or Guadeloupe
Received GEC: 2019 
Travel Locations: Quebec, Martinique and Guadeloupe (and many others!)

Going to Martinique and Guadeloupe enabled me to make strong connections with four schools. Students in French 3 and French 6 now have pen-pals from that side of the world they communicate very regularly.