2 Region 15 Teachers Picked To Present At CT Conference

SOUTHBURY, MA - From Region 15 School District: Region 15 is pleased to announce that Michelle Szmajlo, Social Studies teacher at Pomperaug High School (PHS) and Sharon Wlodarczyk, coordinator of the National History Day program for Rochambeau Middle School (RMS), Memorial Middle School (MMS), and PHS, will be part of a group presentation at the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies (CCSS) Conference on October 26, 2018 in Meriden, Connecticut. The theme of the CCSS conference is “Finding Our Voices: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Taking Informed Action.”

Szmajlo and Wlodarczyk’s presentation is titled, “Helping Students find their Voices in Connecticut and
Johannesburg: A Trans-Atlantic Study of Student Movements.” Szmajlo and Wlodarczyk were one of 20
teachers from the United States accepted last year into the program “Post-Conflict Reconstruction in the US,
South Africa, and Sierra Leone,” an international teachers’ institute created and funded by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition which is supported by the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University.

The objective of the presentation is for participants to develop an understanding of the similarities across
cultures that drive student protests, the attributes of successful student movements, and the factors that help
students find their voices and take informed actions. The presentation will share video from Szmajlo’s and
Wlodarczyk’s visit to South Africa this past July and will provide an overview of the collaborative learning
developed with teachers in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As a result of the work, Szmajlo is developing opportunities for students from PHS and those from The Jeppe
School for Boys in South Africa to share their concerns about their schools, their communities and their world. “Our PHS students are interested in the opportunity to share with those of another culture and we are happy to create those relationships,” said Szmajlo.

Art Blais, Humanities Academic Chairperson (English & Social Studies) at PHS, noted how this work bridges the cultural gap and provides students with a more diverse experience. “These opportunities increase our students cultural awareness, while at the same time providing an opportunity for students to understand that while cultures differ, the concerns of people are the same,” said Blais.

“We are particularly excited to have members of the Region 15 staff directly involved in partnering with
programs that are a direct link to expanding our work in teaching our students global citizenship. There is value in this partnership throughout the district and we are pleased that Michelle and Sharon have an opportunity to share their work,” said Dr. Carrie Chiappetta, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning in Region 15.

CCSS is organized and maintained to advocate and advance the study and teaching of the social studies in the
schools, colleges and other educational institutions of the state of Connecticut; promote the professional
interests of teachers and others engaged in social studies education in the state of Connecticut; promote research in the social studies; encourage and support meaningful development and implementation of social studies curriculum and instructional methods throughout the state; provide a program of professional activities throughout the state for social studies educators, students, and other interested persons; and provide a vehicle for professional interaction, as well as exchanges among social studies educators and between CCSS and other professional organizations, especially the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS).

Photo courtesy of Region 15 School District