Joint US-NZ Fulbright scholarship announcement

Joint US-NZ Fulbright scholarship announcement

28 March 2014

US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and New Zealand Minister of Education Hekia Parata today announced the establishment of the Fulbright Distinguished Teaching Awards Programme.

The programme provides selected New Zealand and American teachers the opportunity to spend three-to-five months experiencing the other country’s education system.

Speaking to journalists at Parliament today, Secretary Duncan said that recruiting and retaining high quality teachers was a key ingredient in the best-performing education systems across the globe to prepare students for college and career.

“Programmes like the new US-New Zealand Fulbright teaching exchange will give our educators a chance to see firsthand what’s working in New Zealand’s classrooms and return home with new strategies for ensuring all students graduate ready for college and careers,” he said.

Minister Parata said the establishment of the Fulbright programme would further deepen the education relationship between New Zealand and the United States.

“This agreement reflects our on-going commitment to raising the status of the teaching profession through cooperation and collaboration. It is a great opportunity for teachers from both New Zealand and US education systems to share their successes and their challenges, and learn from each other,” she said.

At a joint press conference in Wellington today, Minister Parata and Secretary Duncan announced the first two New Zealand award recipients: Su Mukand from Papatoetoe High School and Fiona Jeffries from Paraparaumu College. [Bios below]

This year’s programme will take place from mid-August to mid-December.

The programme would send twenty or more teachers from the United States and New Zealand to each other’s respective countries on fellowships over the course of the next three years.

New Zealand will be the eleventh country to partner with the United States on the Fulbright Distinguished Teaching Awards Programme. Other participating countries include: Chile, Finland, India, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, Singapore, South Korea, and United Kingdom.

The New Zealand Ministry of Education and US Department of State have agreed to co-fund the programme at a cost of over NZ$1,200,000 for three years starting this year.

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