International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP)

For the fourth straight year, Clemson University, led by a group of faculty in the School of Education and supported by the School Director, is hosting a distinguished group of international secondary level school teachers during the spring semester. This is part of a professional exchange program made possible by a $185,000 U.S. Department of State and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs grant implemented by IREX (International Research & Exchanges Board). The program is called the International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP) and the 16 teachers at Clemson University are from Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Peru, the Philippines, and South Africa. They will complete an on-campus academic program as well as an internship at either Edwards Middle School, Seneca Middle School, or Seneca High School where they will work with a US partner teacher. They will also engage in many formal and informal cultural activities in which they will learn about U.S. culture and share about their own.

All the Teacher Fellows, as they are called, went through a year-long selection process. They were nominated by their home country and approved through the respective U.S. Embassy and local Fulbright commission. Nominees were then further screened by the U.S. State Dept. staff and about half of them were selected for this program. This year there were four host Universities selected to host the Teacher Fellows: University of Alabama-Huntsville, James Madison University, Kent State University, and Clemson University. Following their ILEP experience, the Teacher Fellows will return to their home country and act as teacher leaders to others in their schools and countries. The teachers will be in Clemson from January through May, 2012.

The Teacher Education Faculty who secured the grant and implement the program, assisted by graduate student Kate Jensen, are Dr. Megan Che, Dr. James Dogbey, Dr. Bill Fisk, Dr. Bob Green, Dr. Hans Klar, Dr. Mindy Spearman, and Ms. Margaret Warner.