L-R: Carolyn Sonnen, Mindy Leblanc, Gregg Leblanc, Kelly Crumrine, Phil Greenfield
THEY ARE BACK! The teachers landed safely touching down at Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport on Monday. Home from a 6-week adventure they will never forget. A teacher collaboration pilot program organized and funded by Connect Rwanda. Each school day these experienced U.S. teachers would work side-by-side with their Rwandan teacher counterpart. Observing in the classrooms at first, then teaching, and finally working one-on-one with APACOPE teachers scouring the internet with donated laptops, and newly provided internet for curriculum ideas.
“It was a great experience,” said Kelly Crumrine a 5th-grade teacher from Annapolis, Maryland. “The teachers and students were incredibly welcoming, and I think we were really able to help. The internet and technology we take for granted back home will be a game changer here at APACOPE.”
The APACOPE school provided the U.S. teachers with not only opportunities to teach, and share but also insights into Rwandan culture.
“The APACOPE school proved to be the perfect place for this one of a kind pilot program,” said Steve Hays, Connect Rwanda’s organizer. “Hopefully we’ll be able to respond in kind by hosting our Rwandan teachers some day in the U.S… A tall order, but anything is possible.”