During the weekend of December 2-4, Middle School Humanities teachers Angélica Guererro and Lauren Wright, along with former WIS Humanities teacher Denise Rodríguez, presented at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) 102nd Annual Conference in Philadelphia. The title of their workshop was Voices and Silences: Teachers Reimagining Indigenous Representation. The impetus behind the workshop was the recognition that indigenous voices are often missing in history textbooks or classroom discussions about history and current events.
Faculty
Lifelong Learners
Faculty learning groups take place regularly and allow teachers to explore best practices and learn from one another.
Mentors
From a WIS alumnus: [My teachers] were there unconditionally to help me get through the difficulties I faced with the IB. They always had a positive attitude and I really appreciated that, and still do.
Native Speakers
Our French, Spanish, and Mandarin teachers are all native speakers; most WIS teachers speak at least two languages.
Citizens of the World
WIS teachers come from more than 30 countries; their experiences support our students' cultural fluency.
Fast Facts
Over 70% of WIS teachers have advanced degrees; 36% have been at WIS for 10 years or more.
Congratulations to Preschool French teacher Laure Veissiere, who was recently featured on The Phillips Collection's blog, Experiment Station. Laure reflected on her time at The Phillips Collection's Summer Teacher Institute. She wrote about her experience with Art Integration and how it helped her reframe her thoughts about teaching and being a mentor to her students. CLICK HERE to read her powerful piece!
For the last nine years, the Washington International School Summer Institute for Teachers (WISSIT) has never missed a beat, whether it’s changing up locations or pivoting to accommodate a pandemic. The Institute always strives to provide inspiration and a community of thought partners that all educators need and deserve by the time early August rolls around.
WIS Middle School teachers Amy Tong and Lauren Wright recently had their work featured in this article from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Some great ideas here to keep kids busy and thinking without expensive gadgets.
Oxford University Press has published this article about Visible Thinking, written by Dr. Jim Reese, Director of WIS's Professional Development Collaborative.
WIS recently received a grant from the Longview Foundation to support the Museums Go Global: Creating Exemplary Global Competence Lessons for the Smithsonian Learning Lab project.
Grade 11-12 IB Diploma Visual Arts students in Art Teacher Annette Zamula's classes are featured in a new (and free) online course through the National Gallery of Art. The course focuses on using Artful Thinking Routines, developed at Project Zero, to unlock complex thinking in students. The portion of the course featuring WIS students is available HERE and another video including commentary from Annette Zamula is available HERE.
The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access (SCLDA) has awarded Japan Foundation fellowships to Anne Leflot of the Upper School and Denise Rodríguez of the Middle School. They will work in winter and spring 2019 to develop lessons, using digitized collections from Smithsonian museums, that focus on Japanese history and culture. Those lessons will be posted on the Smithsonian Learning Lab for other teachers to use.
Grades 6-12 Director of Teacher and Learning Carole Geneix and Director of the PDS @WIS Jim Reese presented at the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools Annual Conference.
University Counselor Pam Joos was selected to attend the International Guidance Counsellor Conference at Cambridge University, UK. There were over 250 applicants; 20 finalists attended.
At the 4th Annual Maker Educator Convening in San Jose, CA, Upper School French teacher Anne Leflot co-presented a workshop on Making across the Curriculum with Project Zero principal investigator Edward Clapp.