America Achieves’ Fellowship for Teachers and Principals

A 7th grade science teacher at Bernard Harris Middle School, Loryn Windwehen, has been selected for the America Achieves’ Fellowship for Teachers and Principals (http://www.americaachieves.org/leadership) as a fellow for the 2014-16 school years. This program is highly selective, with a less than 20 percent of nominees selected. 

By providing a platform for sharing best practices and giving educators a voice in local, state, and national discussions about public education, the impact of the program extends beyond the individual fellows and into the communities they serve. Through this highly selective fellowship, Windwehen joins 180 national fellows located across 35 states and the District of Columbia, to develop skills to significantly impact students locally and nationally. Furthermore, Windwehen was the only teacher selected to represent Texas. To launch this work, Windwehen will travel to New York City October 17-19th to meet with other fellows, dive deep into critical issues, collaborate on ways to scale their impact, develop action plans, and advise policymakers and thought leaders.  

“I am deeply honored to be a part of such an elite group of educators with a similar missions and passions. Professional development is a crucial component in advancing education, as is being a positive voice for the career that is responsible for the rise of America’s society. As one passionate educator, we can promote positive change, advocate for our profession, and hope to raise the bar for student achievement which is essential for global growth. However, as a solid unit of passionate educators, we gain the leverage needed to put the hopes of the needed advancements into practice. America Achieves’ provides teachers with a platform needed to make positive change, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of it.” she says in relation to this new opportunity. 

As part of their work, each fellow takes on an Impact Project to help expand their reach beyond the walls of their school and classrooms, gain an increased understanding of current research, opportunities, and challenges in practice, systems and policies. Past Impact Projects have resulted in teacher leadership and college access models lauded by the US Department of Education, informing the policy agenda of a mayor of a major urban city, and a regular blog on the widely read Ed Week Teacher, Connecting the Dots.

Regarding the Fellowship’s goals and aims, Windwehen remarks, “Our campus is home to an award-winning community garden that was founded by Lacey Trevino, an art teacher, and myself. Since the program’s inception, we have envisioned using this instructional space to bridge the community and school together, and this fellowship will only enhance that vision, allowing our program to reach more students and empower more community members to connect with our school.”

“This Fellowship gives teachers and principals opportunity to apply their experience in schools to a broader context and impact education practice, policy, and public discussion. We are thrilled to welcome Loryn Windwehen as a 2014-2016 fellow in this prestigious program,” says Sarah Zuckerman, manager of the National Fellowship. 

Windwehen has been teaching for seven years and her passion and love for her career continue to grow. Creating engaging curriculum and meaningful relationships, while being a leader to her peers, are at the forefront of her priorities as an educator. Windwehen was named the 2012 Overall Teacher of the Year for NEISD, 2012 Region 20 Secondary Teacher of the Year in Texas, received the 2012 Kens5 ExCel Award for Excellence in Education, known as the “Golden Apple Award” for teachers, and was a 2012 state finalist in the HEB Excellence in Education Awards under the Rising Star category. In addition, she has been selected for numerous National fellowships including the NEA/Pearson Foundation Global Fellowship, another in partnership with the National Institute for Standards in Technology in Washington, D.C.; one of seven “America’s Teachers” at the I/ITSEC Conference in Orlando, Florida – a conference on modeling and simulation in conjunction with the US Military; as well as a competitive fellowship sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association.

About the national America Achieves Fellowship for Teachers and Principals
The America Achieves Fellowship for Teachers and Principals (AAFTP) provides outstanding educators the ability and opportunity to develop and showcase expertise and shape education practice, policy and the public conversation at the state and national level in order to raise the bar for students, communities, and the education profession.