Since 2020, the Teachers Collaborating Across Borders (TCAB) program has connected 20 K-12 teachers and their students in the US with 20 counterparts across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) each year for joint virtual exchange projects. Participants can teach any subject or grade, and are chosen from a range of schools and communities: urban, suburban, and rural, diverse and culturally monolithic, from Title 1 schools to fancy New York private schools. MENA teachers are chosen from as many countries as possible, and from diverse communities within each country when possible. During the fall semester, teachers from the US and across the Middle East and North Africa create group presentations together to learn about each others’ school cultures and educational systems. In the second semester, the teachers put themselves into groups and plan international projects for their students to do together virtually, with age-appropriate activities and connections. At the end of the year, the whole group comes together again to share their projects. TCAB is led by outreach professionals from the University of Arizona’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies. The application period takes place annually in the spring.
Palm Ballroom Pre-function Area
Abigail Limmer