National-Louis University

Wheeling Campus
Office of School-College Relations
1000 Capitol Drive
Wheeling Illinois 60090-7201
847/947-5564 Fax: 847/947-5564 fchesek@nl.edu

May 12, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

Our partnership with Educators Abroad Global Student Teaching began in the fall of 2003 and,
to-date, have placed over 30 students in countries including Argentina, Australia, Cameroon,
Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New
Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, and Spain. This partnership provides opportunities for
teachers-in-training at NLU in the Master of Arts in teaching (M.A.T.) program to meet
certification requirements, broaden their world view and foster a global perspective in
education decision-making through student teaching placements in primary and secondary
schools around the world. We also believe this experience provides students in the Global
Student Teaching partnership an advantage when competing for jobs after graduation.
Laurie Block, an elementary education M.A.T. student, participated in the global
student teaching program in Japan. She said, “The entire experience was phenomenal, just
like everything else that has happened to me since I have been here. I have met amazing
people, experienced amazing things, and been on amazing adventures. . . . I am still so happy
to have had this experience, and don’t want it to end—this amazing fairytale!”
Renee Vai, a secondary education/English M.A.T. student, did her global student
teaching at St. George’s British International School in Rome, Italy. “Having been familiar and
educated in the U.S. national curriculum, and teaching with the U.K. national curriculum, I was
able to compare and contrast the different goals, standards and testing methods utilized by
each, which I feel in turn has given me insight into the effectiveness and importance of the
two,” Vai explains about her global student teaching experience. “Overall, I have become a
well-educated, well-prepared teacher, and I am capable of adapting to an array of diverse
cultures, environments, curriculums and institutions, while successfully teaching my
students.”
Our original conversations with Craig Kissock in 2003 where truly collaborative and
sensitive to the needs of our university’s teacher certification program and were finalized in
an agreement we felt, first, served our student well by providing a supportive and complete
field placement experience; and, secondly, promoted other placement options for our
students in the heavily represented area such as Language Arts and Social Studies. Thirdly, it
provided the extra benefit of not needing to find a placement and hire a supervisor. Our
students do not receive transfer credit, but pay tuition to NLU and receive their final grade in
an exit interview with their advisor here at the university. The cost to our university is a little
less than the placement costs would normally be for students placed locally. This, of course,
makes our “bean counters” very happy.
The Educators Abroad staff has been most willing to accommodate us in any needed
requests and in continually improving our tailored Global Student Teaching program. For this,
the students, this office, and our university have been most grateful.
If you have more specific questions about the program at this university, feel free to
contact me by phone or email.

Fred Chesek, Ph.D.

Director, Office of School-College Relations