Portland, Maine is an ideal city for teaching globally. One of the best aspects of our city is our diversity. Though Maine is America's whitest states demographically, Portland is its cultural capital. Over the past few decades, Portland has transformed itself through immigration. Our city is a government designated refugee resettlement site. As such, in the 1980s, we welcomed families escaping Cambodia and Vietnam. In the 90s, following the breakup of Yugoslavia, there was an influx of migrants from Croatia and Serbia. Since 2000, our population has grown to include many Africans including people from DRC, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Somalia. More recently our classrooms have begun to include Middle Easterners from Iraq, Iran, and Syria.
As the population has changed, organizations have been developed to support our new residents. These organizations can all be resources for teachers and students. The group that helps first is Catholic Charities. Others include the Root Cellar,
the Portland Housing Authority, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project,
the Preble Street Resource Center and many churches, temples, and mosques.
Portland also has a vibrant arts scene and its arts and culture organizations are natural global education partners. Consider reaching out to Portland Stage Company, the Telling Room, and Maine Historical Society.
In the past our district has been fortunate to work with Harvard University's Project Zero, national leaders of globally competency. They are kind and encouraging. I recommend any teacher moving toward globalizing a classroom approach the directors there.
Finally Portland has two educators who have participated in the Teachers for Global Classrooms program as fellows. The first to join was Caroline Foster. She's a terrific teacher and her capstone site is a great place to start. I am the second TGC educator from Portland and it would be my pleasure to meet with anyone wanting to talk about global education.