The Curriculum Center Teacher Fellows are a crucial component of the Curriculum Advisory Board (CAB). Made up of K-12 teachers, the Fellows help the Center create original classroom materials centered on immigration themes as well as advise on key Curriculum Center projects. The Fellows develop presentations on immigration for teachers' symposia conferences nationwide. These veteran teachers also assist the Curriculum Center in identifying and reviewing educational materials to disseminate to teachers nationwide in addition to judging entries for Teacher Grants and the Creative Writing Contest.
The 2008 Teacher Fellows come from all across the United States and bring with them a wide set of skills and experience. Take a look at their biographies as well as their experiences about teaching immigration in the classroom.
John Hallagan
After growing up in a Chicago family of 12 children, John Hallagan graduated from Marquette University (B.A.'75) and spent the next 27 years as a Wisconsin public school teacher. He taught eight years in the Milwaukee Public Schools and another eight years coordinating the gifted and talent program for the Shorewood School District.
For the past 11 years, he's been a fourth grade teacher at Magee Elementary School in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin, earned an Elementary Education Master's degree from National Louis University ('94). Recipient of the Kohl's Fellowship Award in 2002, John was named 2005 Wisconsin History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute. He serves on the Teacher Advisory Board for the Wisconsin Historical Society.
John is the founder, coordinator and publisher of the Milwaukee Art Museum's Young Authors Conferences and the 18 editions of the Art of Writing, a publication that has showcased over 5,000 young writers and artists. He has published over 200 articles in newspapers and magazines most recently for the electronic magazine, History Now.
John is an original member of the American Immigration Law Foundation's Teacher Advisory Board having served AILF for the past seven years. He's participated in AILF symposia in Washington D.C., Chicago and San Francisco.
How John Hallagan Teaches Immigration
Jane Grant
Jane received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from National Louis University in Evanston Illinois.
A passionate world traveler, Jane incorporates many of her cultural experiences in her classroom and lessons. She was awarded a Fulbright grant thought the Indo-American center in Chicago where she spent a fabulous summer in India. Another grant she received was through Education for Global Involvement and the U.S. Japan Foundation for study in Japan.
In addition to serving as a member on the Teacher Advisory Board for the American Immigration Law Foundation, Jane has also consulted with and presented for Changing World's, a local organization in Chicago. Changing World's is an educational arts non-profit organization whose mission is to foster inclusive communities through oral history, writing and art to ultimately affirm identity and enhance cross-cultural understanding.
Jane was a 2003 Golden Apple Teacher finalist. She has taught fifth grade at Bell Regional Center in Chicago for the last 14 years.
How Jane Grant Teaches Immigration
Sylvia Pelta
Sylvia Pelta is a retired teacher who worked with Philadelphia Public Schools for 36 years. Pelta, who studied English and art history at Temple University and has a Masters Degree in education, worked as a classroom teacher, gifted education teacher and has taught at many different grade levels. In 2001, she was the Ruth Wright Hayre Philadelphia Teacher of the Year. She is also the Director of Education for the Philadelphia Institute for the Arts in Education.
Angelique Molloy
Angelique Molloy, a fourth grade teacher at Crestview Preparatory School in La Canada, California, received her BA in Art, Art History, and Philosophy from Whittier College and an MA in Education from California State University. Molloy organizes community service projects for students as well as instructs an after-school enrichment course which includes multicultural arts and crafts, Spanish, writing and drama. Molloy is also an advisor for the Student Spirit Council.
How Angelique Molloy Teaches Immigration
Josh Perlman
Josh Perlman was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and received his bachelor's degree in English and history at Columbia University in New York. Josh began to take a particular interest in immigration during his first year out of college, as he lived and worked in the largely Turkish immigrant neighborhoods of Berlin. He went on to work as a community organizer in Latino neighborhoods in Denver and to research African migration to the south of Spain.
Josh's Master's Degree from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service was focused on immigration and education, and he completed the Certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies through Georgetown's Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM.)
Josh has published policy papers, interviews, art criticism, poetry and a CD of original songs. Josh currently teaches 10th grade world history to in Asheville, North Carolina.
How Josh Perlman Teaches Immigration
