MARTINSBURG — Martinsburg South Middle School teacher Laura Bohrer received the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Award from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Through this program, Bohrer and many other teachers throughout the country will have the opportunity to teach and study abroad. She’ll learn more about another culture and bring what she learns back to her classroom.
Bohrer has been teaching for 21 years and is currently working as a sixth-grade science teacher. She first learned about the Fulbright Scholar program from Michele Adams, a former Berkeley County Teacher of the Year. Adams participated in the program in the past and encouraged Bohrer to apply.
After waiting for several years, Bohrer decided it was finally time to give it a try.
“I’m a big proponent of learning from other teachers,” Bohrer said. “I’ve been so blessed with so many amazing teachers in my life that I’ve been able to learn from. I used to work at an elementary school before coming to South Middle. I went from teaching every subject to just teaching science. Though I love science and knew I could teach it, I never taught it all day, and I knew I needed to beef up on my knowledge and working with other teachers helped me do that.”
The Fulbright Scholar program allows teachers to travel to a different country and learn from other teachers across the world. Participants have traveled to more than 135 countries, while also giving teachers the chance to come the United States.
Bohrer is just starting her course work to prepare for the program and will learn where she’ll be traveling to in January. However, she is excited to learn from other teachers from another culture.
“It will be different from any other professional development experience I’ve ever done,” Bohrer said. “Everything we’ll do will be top notch and data driven to find the best practices. I’m excited to experience a different culture. I believe there is always room for improvement, so I’m excited to learn practices from other parts of the world that might benefit students here.”
She plans to talk with her students and give them the chance to ask questions and get answers from students from another country. In addition to the educational aspect of the program, Bohrer will also experience another culture. She looks forward to trying some new foods and simply learning more about how other people live.
“A big piece of this for me is to broaden my global perspective,” Bohrer said. “Sometimes, we get into our own bubble. We get into our routines and get use to how our world looks like, but it looks totally different somewhere else.”
Bohrer is thankful to her administrators and the county for their support as she pursues this unique opportunity. She’s also grateful for her husband, family, co-workers and friends, who encourage her to become a better teacher to do her best for her students. She hopes more teachers will learn more about Fulbright Scholars and join the program in the future.