Welcome, 2023-24 Food Education Fellows!
We are thrilled to announce that we have welcomed 25 new educators to our 5th Annual Food Education Fellowship! This week marked the official beginning of what is sure to be a fantastic Fellowship school year!
Summer Institute
Last week, our new cohort of educators joined us for our Summer Institute: a virtual, two-day marathon of brainstorming and planning for the upcoming school year. During the Institute, Fellows learned about our Food Education Standards, met with Pilot Light staffers, and began planning how they will integrate Food Education into their weekly classroom learning this coming school year.
We’re sending a special thanks to Institute speakers Larkin Podsiedlik and Amy Anderla. Larkin, Executive Director of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County, kicked off the professional development sessions for this year’s Fellows. Additionally, Amy offered her insights as a member of our Fellowship Alumni Network. Insights from previous year’s Fellows like Amy, combined with the institutional knowledge of our professional development speakers like Larkin, made a great combination for this year’s cohort!
Meet the Fellows
This year, we received more applications for our annual Fellowship than ever before! We are so excited to welcome this amazing cohort of educators to the 5th annual Fellowship. This year’s Fellows features:
- 13 Chicago Educators
- 5 Educators on the East coast – New York, Maryland, Delaware, & Vermont
- 1 Educator on the West coast – California
- 6 Educators in the South and Midwest – Arkansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Illinois
During their year as Fellows, these educators will integrate Food Education topics into their weekly classroom learning. In addition, they will attend monthly professional development sessions, participate in peer-to-peer coaching, and lead their classrooms in a community partnership and food advocacy project. 8 of this year’s Fellows teach Pre-K and elementary students, while 7 teach middle school, and 8 teach high school. We’re so excited to partner with educators to bring Food Education to a variety of students this year.
Get to know our 2023-24 Fellows better by checking out their bios! We’ll be sharing stories from their classrooms and more about the Fellows in the coming months.
Be sure to follow @pilotlightchefs on social media and send your best wishes for the coming school year to our Fellows past and present!