2026-2027 Global Classroom Educator Fellowship (GCEF)
August 21st, 2026 4:30PM -6:00PM
What Is the Global Classroom Educator Fellowship?
The Global Classroom Educator Fellowship (GCEF) is a pilot-year professional learning community designed to support Washington educators in bringing global perspectives and real-world connections into their classrooms. Through virtual sessions, in-person workshops, and collaborative projects, participants will explore ways to link global topics to local experiences; helping students think critically, engage thoughtfully, and understand the wider world around them.
This work aligns with Washington State Learning Standards, which emphasize civic engagement, critical thinking, cultural understanding, and communication skills across subject areas. By connecting classroom learning to global and local issues, the cohort equips educators with the tools to prepare students to analyze multiple perspectives, engage in informed decision-making, and actively contribute to their communities. In an increasingly interconnected world, these skills are essential for student success and lifelong learning.
Why a Fellowship? — and Why Now?
In celebration of the World Affairs Council’s 75th Anniversary, Global Classroom is proud to launch the Global Classroom Educator Fellowship (GCEF), a bold evolution from standalone workshops to a yearlong, cohort-based learning experience.
Over the past 75 years, we have advanced global education through periods of profound change and challenge. Today’s educators are navigating unprecedented demands — from civic polarization and media saturation to global crises that directly shape students’ lives. This fellowship responds to this moment by offering sustained, relational, and practice-based professional learning that meets educators where they are. The GCEF is designed to foster a teacher learning community that supports one another in advancing global competence across the Greater Seattle Area, with the long-term goal of expanding statewide.
What You’ll Experience
🖥 Monthly Virtual Learning Sessions
Interactive 90-minute sessions featuring global and local experts, educator-led dialogue, and classroom integration strategies. Topics explore real-world issues such as civic engagement, environmental change, media literacy, and global interconnections.
🤝 Quarterly In-Person Workshops & Field Experiences
Four immersive, in-person workshops hosted across the Greater Seattle Area in partnership with universities, cultural institutions, and community organizations. Sessions include site visits, experiential learning, and collaborative curriculum design.
📘 Capstone: Classroom Innovation Project
Each fellow designs and implements a classroom-based project that applies a global perspective to a local issue. Projects are flexible across disciplines (Social Studies, ELA, STEM, CTE, SEL) and emphasize inquiry, critical thinking, and student engagement.
🌍 Community of Practice
Fellows engage in an ongoing professional learning community supported through Canvas and WhatsApp, sharing resources, lessons, challenges, and reflections throughout the year.
Cohort Size
The pilot cohort will include 20–30 educators, allowing for meaningful collaboration, relationship-building, and individualized support throughout the year.
Eligibility
Open to K–12 educators in the Greater Seattle Area across all subject areas. Classroom teachers, instructional coaches, specialists, and educators in formal or informal learning environments are encouraged to apply.
Program Duration
The fellowship runs from August 2026 through June 2027, aligning with the academic year and allowing educators to immediately apply learning in their classrooms.
Format
A hybrid model combining:
-
Monthly virtual learning sessions
-
Quarterly in-person workshops and field experiences in the Greater Seattle Area
This structure is designed to be engaging, flexible, and responsive to educators’ schedules.
Cost
The fellowship fee is $500 for the full year.
Payment options will be available, and educators are encouraged to explore district professional development funds or school-based support.
Clock Hours
Participants may earn 40–45 OSPI-approved clock hours, including synchronous sessions and guided asynchronous learning hosted in Canvas.
Program Launch
The cohort officially kicks off with an in-person orientation in August 2026, focused on community building, program orientation, and goal setting.
By the end of the pilot year, fellows will:
- Curriculum Integration: Design and implement classroom projects that connect local and global issues, aligned with Washington State Social Studies, CTE, ELA, STEM, and/or SEL Standards.
- Inquiry & Critical Thinking: Facilitate student inquiry that encourages analysis of multiple perspectives and evidence-based reasoning.
- Collaborative Practice: Actively engage in a professional learning community, sharing resources, insights, and best practices with peers throughout the Greater Seattle Area.
- Civic Engagement: Guide students to explore real-world challenges, reflect on their role in the community, and take action in meaningful ways.
- Professional Growth: Demonstrate growth in teaching strategies, cultural competency, and use of experiential learning to enrich student outcomes.
- Capstone Achievement: Complete a classroom innovation project with measurable student impact, accompanied by a reflection report documenting lessons learned and classroom outcomes.
Short-Term Outcomes: Increased educator confidence in global competence, culturally responsive teaching, media literacy, and inquiry-based instruction.
Intermediate Outcomes: Educators design and implement globally grounded lessons and capstone projects aligned to WA State standards and student needs.
Long-Term Impact: Students develop global awareness, critical thinking, civic engagement skills, and empathy, while educators become sustained leaders in global education.
In-Person Sessions (Quarterly): August '26, October '26, January '27, April '27, June '27
Virtual Sessions (Monthly): September '26, November '26, December '26, February '27, March '27, May '27
Core Themes Include:
- Building community & global foundations
- Connecting local classrooms to global contexts
- Civic engagement & inquiry-based learning
- Global current events & media literacy
- Social and emotional learning & culturally responsive teaching
- Indigenous knowledge & environmental stewardship
- Assessment, reflection, and capstone showcase
Capstone Throughline: Each session intentionally builds toward the design, implementation, and presentation of a classroom-based global learning capstone project.
NOTE: In addition to the synchronous sessions listed above, educators will complete 20–25 hours of asynchronous learning (i.e. readings, videos, discussion boards, curriculum design tasks, and capstone work) hosted in the Canvas platform. These hours will qualify for additional clock hours.
Why Join the GCEF?
- Be part of a select, collaborative cohort during our 75th anniversary year
- Gain practical, classroom-ready tools — not just theory
- Build lasting relationships with educators across disciplines
- Strengthen your students’ global awareness, empathy, and civic engagement
- Earn up to 45 clock hours through meaningful professional learning
Interested in Joining the Fellowship?
Applications for the GCEF will open Sunday, March 1st, 2026, with a priority deadline on Monday, April 20th 2026. After that, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the cohort is full.
To learn more, we invite interested educators to join one of our FREE informational open houses,
Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 | 4:30 - 6PM PT
or
Wednesday, March 18th, 2026 | 4:30 - 6PM PT
These sessions are an opportunity to hear more about the fellowship experience, review expectations, and ask questions before applying.
Together, we’re preparing educators — and students — to navigate an interconnected world.