A Prince George’s County, Maryland, high school teacher has been selected for a prestigious scholarship.
Chidi Duru, a teacher and science department chair at Crossland High School in Camp Springs, earned a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program award from the State Department and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, according to Prince George’s County Public Schools.
It’s a yearlong professional learning opportunity with a short-term exchange for U.S. educators.
“The Fulbright program will potentially help my students to gain a better appreciation of other cultures and acquire the global competencies and crucial critical thinking skills needed to thrive in the 21st Century,” Duru said.
Duru will complete a semesterlong online course on best practices in global education, attend an in-person professional development workshop in D.C. and travel abroad for two to three weeks for an immersive experience in another country’s culture and education system.
“I tell my students to hold their heads high because they are as good as any students anywhere. I am eager to demonstrate this to them as they interact with students from across the United States and around the world,” Duru said.
Duru has been with Prince George’s County schools for 18 years. He is a National Board Certified Teacher and a mentor to new NBCT candidates.
“Dr. Duru has represented Crossland for many years in the science community, and I’m proud of him as a colleague and member of the Crossland family,” Principal Michael Gilchrist said in a statement.
The Fulbright Program, which started more than 75 years ago, is the U.S.’ international educational exchange program. Fulbright alumni include Nobel Prize laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners and heads of state and government.
“I am so proud of this prestigious achievement that will offer unique opportunities and connections to impact not only students who pass through Dr. Duru’s classroom, but students across the nation and globe,” Prince George’s County schools CEO Monica Goldson said in a statement.
