TSA teacher awarded Fulbright
The Sharon Academy proudly announces that Middle School teacher Fallon Abel has received an award from the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program to carry out educational research in Finland January–July, 2023. According to the official press release, as a Fulbright recipient, she will “share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Finland.” In her own words, she expects “to develop project-based, student-directed Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curricula for teens at TSA and other VT schools that will help address the rising behavioral and mental health issues we’ve been seeing.” This award is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
TSA is a small school whose mission is to nurture every student to reach their potential. “There is nothing more important right now than devoting ourselves to the social and emotional well-being of our students. Learning can’t happen and schools can’t be safe places if students’ social and emotional needs aren’t being addressed,” observed Head of School Mary Newman. “Fallon’s experiences and work enabled by the Fulbright award will be an invaluable asset to our school community; I am beyond thrilled for her, and for what this means for TSA.”
Fallon has been an exemplary faculty member since she started teaching at TSA in 2016. Fallon earned her BA in Literature and Philosophy at Bard College at Simon’s Rock and her MA in English from Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. She also completed graduate coursework at UMass Amherst and the University of Oxford. Learn more. Always curious, Fallon continuously seeks opportunities to learn and to share her knowledge with her colleagues and her students. In 2019, she and fellow teacher Marcy Innes sought and won a grant to implement a classroom project that explored how media portrayals of race foster implicit bias and contemporary debates about the Constitutionality of various policing and sentencing practices, as a part of the school-wide unit on civil and human rights. She is also actively involved in important activities at TSA such as Chain Reaction Day and TSA’s Equity Committee.
Reacting to her Fulbright award, Fallon shared that she feels “deeply honored and grateful to all of the colleagues and friends who have supported me throughout the application process. I’m excited for what this will mean for TSA and other Vermont schools. So many educators have been struggling to figure out how to help students develop resilience and other socio-emotional skills, and my hope is that the research I undertake in Finland will provide insight into how our schools can better support the well-being of not only students but also teachers. “
According to the Fulbright Commission’s press release, award recipients engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their classrooms in the United States, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars and educators to their school or campus and encouraging their colleagues and students to go abroad. As Fulbright alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 40 who have served as a head of state or government.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program.
For over 75 years, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.