FOR NEED FOUNDATION

We hope to provide qualified teachers to teach children approximately eight hours a day, five days a week. The program will last for approximately three months, on an annual basis. We plan to teach the students on a variety of subjects, including English, math, and science. We hope to teach approximately 1,500 students on a three month period. This program is sanctioned by the Department of Education in Fiji.

Let me introduce myself. I am Dr. Geoffrey Mills, Dean and Professor, School of Education, Southern Oregon University, and I am writing to you to share a proposal that would allow the School of Education to send teachers to Fiji to work in schools with children of all ages based on identified needs.

Southern Oregon University is a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences college in Ashland, Oregon, USA with approximately 5,000 students. (Visit http://www.sou.edu for a full description of the university and its programs.) The School of Education offers the following degree programs:

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)
Masters of Education (MEd)
Bachelor of Arts/Science in Early Childhood Development

Graduates from the MAT program earn a masters degree and a recommendation for a teaching license with authorizations to teach in early childhood, elementary, middle school, and high school classrooms. Graduates in the MEd program in Special Education earn a masters degree and a recommendation for a teaching license to work in special education classrooms. SOU currently graduates 125 students a year on average from these licensure programs.

The School of Education has adopted the following mission statement to guide its work in the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), Special Education, and Masters of Education programs. The mission statement reads as follows:

We are teachers within a community of learners committed to preparing culturally competent educational leaders for the challenges of a changing and increasingly diverse democratic society. Our laboratories are the classooms and world in which we teach, observe, and reflect.

Clearly related to the School of Education’s mission statement is the desire to matriculate teachers who are culturally competent and prepared to teach in an increasingly diverse society. It is our belief that the “Turner-Mills Teachers for Need” program would not only contribute to the School of Education’s ability to achieve its mission, but that the School would be able to provide highly qualified teachers to teach on a short-term basis in Fijian schools. That is, the School of Education would be able to send teachers with expertise at all grade levels, content areas, and with the ability to work with children with special needs.

Program Structure

The proposed program would place graduate students from Southern Oregon University who are looking for an opportunity to teach in Fiji, in areas identified by Dr. Daryl Turner, Mr. John Grey, and the Fijian government Department of Education. Teaching placements would be contingent on the availability of housing and the willingness of local school officials to place visiting teachers in classroom settings. The proposed program would build on the current “Turner-Kail Doctors for Need” model where participants are provided with airfare, lodging, meals, and a small per diem. The School of Education would undertake fund-raising activities to help offset the costs associated with the program. The number of teachers placed in Fijian schools would, therefore, be limited by; a.) identified need areas in Fiji, b.) availability of housing, c.) willingness of local school officials to place visiting teachers, and d.) resources to support costs associated with the program.

It is also proposed that faculty in the School of Education will be available to work with teachers in this program and to provide support. This support may be in the form of mediated discussions/coursework via the internet (based on availability of internet access), and/or working alongside teachers in schools in Fiji. Faculty would also be encouraged to offer seminars for teachers in Fiji on topics of interest.

It is assumed that Southern Oregon University (through the School of Education and International Programs) would assist teachers with obtaining any necessary visas to work and live in Fiji.

It is conceivable that Southern Oregon University could start recruiting graduates to this program beginning in 2007. The program may attract recent graduates who have been unable to find full-time employment and wish to gain “international” experience as well as current students who will earn a teaching license in June, 2007. In addition, teachers working in this program would be eligible to earn graduate credit for their work in schools. Teachers participating in this program would agree to teach in Fiji for a minimum of three months and a maximum of six months.

We are very much looking forward to starting this program with you. I under that Dr. Turner will be visiting Fiji in late August to finalize the program. At some time in the near future, I also look forward to meeting with you.