Two North East ISD teachers have been chosen by the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia to participate in a summer travel grant program to China and South Korea.  The teachers, Daniel Whitaker from Madison High School and Laurie Huhndorf from Tejeda Middle School, will spend the month of June visiting schools, historic sites and attending cultural events in South Korea and China.  This information will further their knowledge of Asia to assist them in planning new lessons and programs for their students.

In 2006 the two separately applied for a seminar at Trinity University for Teaching About Asia in the Classroom and were accepted. After attending the 30-hour seminar, which consisted of training and the completion of five lesson plans, they were given the opportunity to apply for the travel seminar to Asia. This process included writing papers on their background and experiences that would qualify them for the seminar, plus how they would use this experience to further the teaching of Asia in their classroom. Additionally, they had to write a research paper on one aspect of Asia. These essays were submitted to the Freeman Foundation and were selected among other essays submitted from all over Texas.