PGCPS Teacher Receives Fulbright Award

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Prince George’s County Public Schools educator Chidi Duru, a teacher and science department chair at Crossland High School, has earned a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program award from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

“The Fulbright program will potentially help my students to gain a better appreciation of other cultures and acquire the global competencies and crucial critical thinking skills needed to thrive in the 21st Century,” Duru said. “I tell my students to hold their heads high because they are as good as any students anywhere. I am eager to demonstrate this to them as they interact with students from across the United States and around the world.”

An 18-year PGCPS educator and National Board Certified Teacher, Duru is a mentor to new NBCT candidates, a member of his school leadership team, professional development facilitator for PGCPS and presenter at national conferences.

As a Fulbright recipient, Duru will join a network of thousands of scholars and leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients and 40 who have served as a head of state or government. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars and educators to their school or campus and encouraging their colleagues and students to go abroad.

“I am so proud of this prestigious achievement that will offer unique opportunities and connections to impact not only students who pass through Dr. Duru’s classroom, but students across the nation and globe,” said Dr. Monica Goldson, PGCPS chief executive officer.