Bringing their spirit home

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Christina Schwalm's 10th-grade biology course at Silver Spring's John F. Kennedy High School is a double whammy: Her students learn English while tackling basic science.

In theory, they can become more adept at expressing themselves in a second or third language by writing and talking about the subject matter at hand. Skills go alongside content in this ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) biology class, where students grade their own writing assignments according to the teacher's standards as a means of learning new vocabulary.

Ms. Schwalm, 26, a native English speaker, learns, too. A graduate in marine biology from the University of Maryland, she is a former Peace Corps volunteer participating in a program that allows her to perfect her teaching skills as an employee of the Montgomery County Public Schools while earning a master's degree in education from George Washington University.

The partnership between the university and Montgomery County grew out of a pre-existing one called Teachers 2000, which now has a link with the national Peace Corps Fellows/USA program. In any given year, about 20 returning Peace Corps volunteers take part.

GW's emphasis is on secondary education, according to project director Jeanne Embich, a professor in the department of teacher preparation and special education. Teacher placement depends on what she calls "the county's critical-need areas," which most often are science, math and special education. Participants are required to work in the school district for three years.

"We don't make teaching in the Peace Corps a requirement, but we tell them that if they haven't taught as part of the Peace Corps experience, it will be that much harder," says Ms. Embich, going on to praise the "positive attitude" of most returning volunteers.

They have an advantage as people who have been out in the world, she says. "It is in special education where they really shine because they have had a multicultural experience, they speak a second language, and they are creative and responsible and enthusiastic. They are just happy not to have to carry their supplies on a donkey." At Kennedy High School, many teachers move supplies through the halls on a rolling cart.

During the first year of their master's program, participants intern with a master teacher and act as substitute teachers. During the second year, they have full-time responsibilities but have the support of a full-time coach -- a retired Montgomery County teacher who spends three hours a week with the participant. They attend classes two evenings a week the first year and take as many as four classes in summer.

Nationwide, the Peace Corps Fellows/USA program, with which Teachers 2000 is allied, places several hundred returning volunteers annually as interns in a wide range of fields through collaboration with several dozen universities.

Locally, George Mason University, the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, the University of Maryland at Baltimore and Johns Hopkins University also are involved with varied offerings. Fellows gain professional credits at reduced rates while working at various jobs in many underserved communities.