色多多

It鈥檚 named after former National Geographic Society Chairman Gilbert M. Grosvenor. 鈥淭hese exceptional educators will have the remarkable opportunity to visit some of the most ecologically diverse and unique places on earth, utilizing this firsthand insight for an enriching educational experience and igniting passion for environmental stewardship in students for years to come,鈥� Amy Berquist, vice president of conservation, education and sustainability at Lindblad Expeditions, said in an April 16 news release. Brown and the other teachers selected for the Iceland expedition will take a ship from the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions fleet to eight stops around the country, seeing things like glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls and puffins. This opportunity is about growing as an educator so she can give more back to her students, she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to experience something new, but even more excited to translate it into meaningful moments in the classroom 鈥� moments that help kids feel more connected to the world and see how what they鈥檙e learning matters,鈥� she said.

Brown is no stranger to traveling 鈥� in fact, a goal of hers is to teach on every continent. So far, she鈥檚 taught in Zimbabwe, India and Saudi Arabia. In 2023, she Building relationships with students and supporting them is her favorite part of the job, she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a teacher because my teachers growing up were my lifeline,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey kind of raised me. If it weren鈥檛 for my teachers, I wouldn鈥檛 be who I am, and so getting to be that for other kids, I think, is the best reward.鈥� Something that Brown is looking forward to is finding real-world connections for her lessons and finding ways. One idea she鈥檚 had already is to have her students make circle graphs to compare the amount of daylight hours different countries experience, inspired by the fact that Iceland experiences nearly 24 hours of daylight during the summer. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to think of more ways to make my content come to life so the kids aren鈥檛 bored and they see the importance of the skills I鈥檓 teaching them,鈥� she said. In 2018, Judith Painter, an eighth grade world geography teacher at Andrew Lewis Middle School, was selected to be a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow. For her expedition, she went to Antarctica, where she saw seals, whales and penguins, took a polar plunge in the Weddell Sea and observed the effects of climate change on the continent. Once Painter returned, she gave more than 40 presentations at elementary schools and local clubs across the 色多多 Valley. This year, as she prepares to retire, some of her eighth grade students remember her coming to speak to their third grade class about her adventure.

Her experience as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow gave her a lot of ideas and opened a lot of doors to her and her students, she said. Painter helped start a program to help students explore the local environment through activities like hiking and tubing. In 2022, she went to Kenya with another Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, and her class still sends pen pal letters each year to the class of a teacher she met there. Painter is excited to see what Brown鈥檚 experience 鈥渕ight propel her students to do next,鈥� she said. 鈥淪he is an awesome teacher and has been a fantastic addition here at Andrew Lewis Middle School,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just cannot wait to see where she goes with this.鈥�

While this is a professional development opportunity for Brown, it also gives her the chance to share ideas and resources with other teachers. She鈥檚 learned about resources that the National Geographic Society offers to educators, like video chatting with explorers in the field, and she鈥檚 looking forward to sharing them, she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge alumni group now, and everybody shares what they have, shares ideas, which is really another piece that Danielle will be accessing in the next year,鈥� Painter said.

After the expedition, the Grosvenor Teacher Fellows have a two-year commitment to support National Geographic鈥檚 education initiatives. For Brown, part of this work will include organizing a community outreach event and a student action project inspired by her expedition. She鈥檚 looking forward to working with National Geographic to create resources for educators everywhere to use, she said. 鈥淥ne big hope I have with this expedition is to create lasting resources that can be used across grade levels and subject areas 鈥� not just in my classroom, but by teachers across the country and even around the world,鈥� she said. The 17th cohort of the Grosvenor Teacher Fellows consists of 35 educators from 20 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces. Educators chosen to participate represent a range of grade levels and subject areas. Some places the 2025 Grosvenor Teacher Fellows will travel to include Alaska, Antarctica, the Arctic, Patagonia, Galap谩gos, Greece and Croatia鈥檚 Dalmatian Coast. The fellowship is a good opportunity to recognize teachers that go 鈥渁bove and beyond,鈥� like Brown and Painter do, Salem City Schools Superintendent Curtis Hicks said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really about bettering themselves for the betterment of their students,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e constantly learning so that they can then not only be a great example to their students about being a lifelong learner, but then also have some experiences that they can share with kids that just broaden their horizons.鈥�

When Danielle Brown, a teacher at Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem, applied to the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship last fall, she didn鈥檛 expect to be selected.

But now, the sixth grade math teacher is preparing to go on an expedition to Iceland over the summer as a part of the fellowship. There, she鈥檒l gain experience and knowledge that she can bring back to share with her students and colleagues.

The Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, made possible by a collaboration between Lindblad Expeditions and the National Geographic Society, provides select pre-K-12 educators with a 鈥渓ife-changing, field-based experience,鈥� according to It鈥檚 named after former National Geographic Society Chairman Gilbert M. Grosvenor.

鈥淭hese exceptional educators will have the remarkable opportunity to visit some of the most ecologically diverse and unique places on earth, utilizing this firsthand insight for an enriching educational experience and igniting passion for environmental stewardship in students for years to come,鈥� Amy Berquist, vice president of conservation, education and sustainability at Lindblad Expeditions, said in an April 16 news release.

Brown and the other teachers selected for the Iceland expedition will take a ship from the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions fleet to eight stops around the country, seeing things like glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls and puffins. This opportunity is about growing as an educator so she can give more back to her students, she said.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to experience something new, but even more excited to translate it into meaningful moments in the classroom 鈥� moments that help kids feel more connected to the world and see how what they鈥檙e learning matters,鈥� she said.

Brown is no stranger to traveling 鈥� in fact, a goal of hers is to teach on every continent. So far, she鈥檚 taught in Zimbabwe, India and Saudi Arabia. In 2023, she Building relationships with students and supporting them is her favorite part of the job, she said.

鈥淚鈥檓 a teacher because my teachers growing up were my lifeline,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey kind of raised me. If it weren鈥檛 for my teachers, I wouldn鈥檛 be who I am, and so getting to be that for other kids, I think, is the best reward.鈥�

Something that Brown is looking forward to is finding real-world connections for her lessons and finding ways. One idea she鈥檚 had already is to have her students make circle graphs to compare the amount of daylight hours different countries experience, inspired by the fact that Iceland experiences nearly 24 hours of daylight during the summer.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to think of more ways to make my content come to life so the kids aren鈥檛 bored and they see the importance of the skills I鈥檓 teaching them,鈥� she said.

In 2018, Judith Painter, an eighth grade world geography teacher at Andrew Lewis Middle School, was selected to be a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow. For her expedition, she went to Antarctica, where she saw seals, whales and penguins, took a polar plunge in the Weddell Sea and observed the effects of climate change on the continent.

Once Painter returned, she gave more than 40 presentations at elementary schools and local clubs across the 色多多 Valley. This year, as she prepares to retire, some of her eighth grade students remember her coming to speak to their third grade class about her adventure.

Her experience as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow gave her a lot of ideas and opened a lot of doors to her and her students, she said. Painter helped start a program to help students explore the local environment through activities like hiking and tubing. In 2022, she went to Kenya with another Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, and her class still sends pen pal letters each year to the class of a teacher she met there.

Painter is excited to see what Brown鈥檚 experience 鈥渕ight propel her students to do next,鈥� she said.

鈥淪he is an awesome teacher and has been a fantastic addition here at Andrew Lewis Middle School,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just cannot wait to see where she goes with this.鈥�

While this is a professional development opportunity for Brown, it also gives her the chance to share ideas and resources with other teachers. She鈥檚 learned about resources that the National Geographic Society offers to educators, like video chatting with explorers in the field, and she鈥檚 looking forward to sharing them, she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge alumni group now, and everybody shares what they have, shares ideas, which is really another piece that Danielle will be accessing in the next year,鈥� Painter said.

After the expedition, the Grosvenor Teacher Fellows have a two-year commitment to support National Geographic鈥檚 education initiatives. For Brown, part of this work will include organizing a community outreach event and a student action project inspired by her expedition. She鈥檚 looking forward to working with National Geographic to create resources for educators everywhere to use, she said.

鈥淥ne big hope I have with this expedition is to create lasting resources that can be used across grade levels and subject areas 鈥� not just in my classroom, but by teachers across the country and even around the world,鈥� she said.

The 17th cohort of the Grosvenor Teacher Fellows consists of 35 educators from 20 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces. Educators chosen to participate represent a range of grade levels and subject areas.

Some places the 2025 Grosvenor Teacher Fellows will travel to include Alaska, Antarctica, the Arctic, Patagonia, Galap谩gos, Greece and Croatia鈥檚 Dalmatian Coast.

The fellowship is a good opportunity to recognize teachers that go 鈥渁bove and beyond,鈥� like Brown and Painter do, Salem City Schools Superintendent Curtis Hicks said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really about bettering themselves for the betterment of their students,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e constantly learning so that they can then not only be a great example to their students about being a lifelong learner, but then also have some experiences that they can share with kids that just broaden their horizons.鈥�