Contacto con colegio americano y visita

Esta semana se encuentran entre nosotros las docentes Nancy Castro y Colleen Long, ambas del Departamento de World Language del Walter Payton College Preparatory High School  (foto), un colegio estatal de «high achievers» (alumnos con alto rendimiento académico) de Chicago, Illinois, con el cual se ha establecido una relación institucional, tendiente a la realización de intercambios y actividades conjuntas. 

Ambas profesoras (de Spanish and Latin American Literature and Culture) han sostenido reuniones con miembros del Board y personal directivo y docente de Middle & Senior, y están teniendo la oportunidad de observar clases de distintas asignaturas y de conversar con los alumnos. Asimismo, está previsto un próximo viaje de autoridades del BDS a Chicago, para continuar esbozando los alcances que tendría el proyecto de intercambio institucional.

Para el BDS, significa una particular apertura a los EEUU, que no ha sido tradicionalmente un destino habitual para viajes e intercambios. Al albergar  este colegio americano estudiantes de alto rendimiento en Matemáticas, Ciencias y Lenguas (con los puntajes más altos en todo el estado de Illinois), las posibilidades de enriqucimiento mutuo son amplias y variadas.

A continuación, las breves notas biográficas sobre Ms. Castro y Ms. Long, a quienes también desde este medio les damos una cordial bienvenida. Estas notas han sido extraídas del sitio web de Walter Payton College Prep, que postula en su proyecto educativo: «Students will participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world. Travel abroad is a crucial aspect of this participation».   

Nancy Castro
[Spanish]
Mrs. Castro received her B.A. in Spanish and Secondary Education and her M.A. in Latin American Literature from Purdue University – West Lafayette, Indiana. She completed her coursework for her doctorate in Curriculum Studies from DePaul University. Mrs. Castro has taught in diverse Chicago high schools for the last 12 years, she joined Payton in 2008. She is currently the co-sponsor for ALAS (Payton’s Alliance of Latin American Students) and teaches ZUMBA classes for Payton’s seminars.

Colleen Long
[Spanish]
Ms. Long received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she majored in Spanish with a focus in literature and language and International Studies with an emphasis in the political economy. As an undergraduate she spent time abroad studying in Oaxaca and Guanajuato, Mexico. She continued her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she received a Master’s Degree in Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies with a concentration in Latin American literature and culture. She completed her thesis dealing with the social and economic changes in Post-Soviet Cuba, and how they are reflected in contemporary literature. While working on her Master’s Miss Long also spent an extensive amount of time traveling in Panama, her mother’s native country. Ms. Long is joining Payton as part of the Chicago Teaching Fellowship program, and currently working on a Master’s of Arts in Teaching from National-Louis University. She is very excited to teach the students of Walter Payton and to share her love for World Languages with them.