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HOMESTEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL WINS JAPANESE FULBRIGHT MEMORIAL FUND’S MASTER TEACHER PROGRAM (MTP) MIAMI – Homestead Middle School is one of 10 schools in the country to win the prestigious Japanese Fulbright Memorial Fund’s Master Teacher Program (MTP), an exchange program in which participating U.S. and Japanese schools are partnered to develop joint science projects using information technology. Agriscience students at Homestead Middle will partner with students in Mihara Junior High School located in Kushiro, Hokkaido to study the ecological biodiversity of the Florida Everglades and the Kushiro Marsh. Fully funded by the Japanese government, student and faculty from both schools will collaborate through video-conferencing, Internet postings, emails and exchange visits. Homestead Middle School’s MTP team includes the assistant principal, Dr. Margaret Fahringer; a national board certified teacher, Dr. Adewale J. Alonge, who teaches Exploratory Agriscience; and technology specialist Jimmy Daniels. The school will host two Japanese teachers from March 19-26. Principal Martin T. Reid, faculty, Miami-Dade County Public Schools staff and dignitaries from the city of Homestead and Florida City welcomed the Japanese teachers at a breakfast on March 19 and made introductions to the students via closed circuit television. The week’s activities include various meetings with the students at Homestead Middle and on-site visits to Everglades National Park, Fairchild Tropical Gardens, and Florida International University. The Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund was established by the Japanese Government to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fulbright Program, a U.S. government project created in 1946 to foster mutual understanding through exchanges of university students, faculty, and teachers. To show appreciation for the Fulbright Program, the Japanese government established the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund (JFMF) and commissioned its program design and administration to the Japan-U.S. Educational Commission (JUSEC). Homestead Middle’s Florida Everglades Study will receive institutional support from the Florida International University’s Southeast Environmental Research Center, the South Florida Ecological Restoration Task Force, and the Florida Everglades National Parks System. Homestead Middle School is located at 650 NW 2nd Avenue. For more information, contact Jimmy Daniels at (305) 247-4221 or at jdaniels@dadeschools.net. ### 07-FMN/100/LP |
