Randy King plans to set up sister-school relationship between Aomori, Japan and Bend-La Pine Schools

After a highly competitive national process, Randy King, a teacher at Ensworth Elementary School, has been selected to participate in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund (JFMF) Teacher Program and will spend three weeks in the country. King leaves June 10 for Tokyo for a week-long teachers conference, before living with a family in the northern Japan community Aomori for two weeks.

Randy King

“This award is very important to me, because it allows me to model the benefits of travel and learning to my students,” King said. “I am a life-long learner and it is important for our kids to know that their teachers are taking classes and constantly learning new things.”

During the fully funded trip, King will visit schools and see how Japanese students learn. He hopes to set up a sister-school relationship for Ensworth Elementary.

“One of our goals as a school district is to take good schools and make them great,” he said. “As we interact with people from other places—other cultures—we grow and change as people.”
 
The JFMF Teacher Program is sponsored by the government of Japan to provide primary and secondary school teachers and administrators in the United States the opportunity learn about Japanese culture and education. Participants return home to implement a self-designed plan to share their knowledge and experience with their students, colleagues and the community.