The Rowland Foundation, based in South Londonderry, Vermont, offers grants to Vermont secondary school educators “who are visionary, willing to lead, motivated and committed to affecting change in an area of concern within their respective schools.” Currently in its tenth year, the Foundation has named educators from six Vermont high schools as Rowland Fellows.
Washington Central Supervisory Union and U-32 Middle/High School are proud to announce that U-32 English teacher Alden Bird has been awarded a 2018 Rowland Fellowship by The Rowland Foundation.
Bird’s fellowship comes with a $75,000 grant for U-32, part of which will allow him release time from daily teaching to continue implementing the U-32 English department’s one-on-one student conferencing initiative. Begun as a pilot program two years ago, English teachers at U-32 now spend part of their days conferencing individually with students.
Bird plans to spend this next year conducting research, interviewing students, teachers, and U-32 graduates, and studying high schools and colleges around the country that employ individual conferencing. He will also continue his work as English A.P. Coordinator, and will return to teach two classes during the second semester.
