The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced that Kelli Bivins of Cedar Shoals High School has been offered a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program grant.

Bivins is one of approximately 76 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad through the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program in 2019-2020. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries that are needed to solve global challenges. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 380,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, professionals and scientists the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all fields while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the United States’ long term interests. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many areas, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms is a year-long professional development opportunity for U.S. elementary, middle, and high school teachers to develop skills for preparing students for a competitive global economy. Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms equips teachers to bring an international perspective to their schools through targeted training, experience abroad, and global collaboration.