Irmo High School teacher serves on U.S. Department of Education Task-Force

For Immediate Release – August 18, 2016

Irmo High School teacher serves on U.S. Department of Education Task-Force

IRMO- Irmo High School English teacher Mona Elleithee was invited to serve on the U.S. Department of Education’s Task-Force to Advance Cultural and Global Competencies in PK-16 schools. Educators, administrators, superintendents, members of the business community, directors of national associations and stakeholders from around the country attended a convening in Washington, D.C. on July 28. 

The meeting began with a panel discussion of educators and employers from the international business community who highlighted the importance of these competencies to our interpersonal relationships, economic competitiveness and national security.

Following the panel, ED leaders presented their “Framework for Developing Cultural and Global Competencies to Advance Equity and Excellence from Early Learning to Careers.” Areas emphasized in the framework included: Collaboration and Communication, World and Heritage Languages, Diverse Perspectives and Civic and Global Engagement. Those in attendance spent the rest of the day utilizing this framework to collaboratively build a toolkit of resources for teachers around the nation to advance cultural and global competencies in their classrooms.

In her role as Cultural Competency Team Leader at Irmo High, Elleithee facilitated seven professional development sessions for staff members during planning periods last school year. These meetings provided time for teachers to examine and reflect upon their implicit biases and how those biases impact their students. This year’s Cultural Competency Professional Development will focus on research-based teaching techniques that will maximize student performance for greater access and equity.

“I am so honored that I could represent our state, district and school in this capacity,” Elleithee said. “I am excited for teachers around the nation to utilize the resulting toolkit to enrich their students’ learning experiences. I had a large reserve of educational resources to share from fourteen years of teaching curriculum focused on identity, diversity, equality and change.”

When asked about Elleithee’s opportunity, Irmo High International School for the Arts principal David Riegel said, “It is critical for our teachers to grow professionally and bring back what they have learned for our entire staff.  Bringing the toolkit to Irmo High will help our teachers and students.”