2 Fairfield Teachers Awarded Fund For Teachers' Fellowship Grants

FAIRFIELD, CT — A pair of Fairfield Public School teachers will travel out of state this summer on science-related professional growth projects, which they each designed to help them in their classrooms.

Roger Ludlowe Middle School Special Education Teacher Kelly Lindine, and Fairfield Warde High School Science Teacher Timothy Foster, were both recently awarded Fellowship Grants by the national education organization Fund for Teachers.

The grants will help pay for Foster's August trip to Hawaii to study "the impact of global carbon dioxide emissions on Hawaii’s environmental systems and ecotourism." The project will look at the "interdisciplinary connections between business, economics, environmental justice, and environmental science."

As for Lindine, she and her husband, Daniel Schiels, a Stamford Public Schools teacher, will attend the Natural Start Alliance Conference in Portland, OR, in August, then visit Olympic and Cascades national parks in Washington, among others, "to study marine and freshwater conservation in multiple environments in the Pacific Northwest."

Her project will also look at different ways to introduce "progressive collaboration between two districts varying in natural environments and socio-economic demographics."

Fund for Teachers awards grants that support "educators' efforts to develop skills, knowledge and confidence that impact student achievement." The organization has been around for nearly a quarter-century, and has donated $35 million to more than 9,000 educators.

"By trusting teachers to design unique fellowships, Fund for Teachers grants validate teachers' professionalism and leadership, as well," the group's officials said in a statement.

At the end of their trips, Foster and Lindine will prepare reports on their experiences, which will include photographs, and possibly videos.

This is Foster's second grant from Fund for Teachers, his first was in 2019 where he studied sustainability efforts in Europe, traveling to England, France, Denmark and Sweden.

"These grants help teachers get out and experience the content that they teach, which helps us make better connections with our students," Foster told Patch.

Lindine said that as school districts move away from a lot of outdoor education with students, these types of professional development opportunities can help teachers present topics in new ways.

"We strive for a multisensory approach to education, which is important for all kids," Lindine said. "This opportunity can give us ideas to create different access points to learning."

"This helps with our authenticity," Foster added. "We're able to teach these topics better, because we are able to see them firsthand."