Educators from Japan participating in the Fulbright Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development visited the Secondary Academy for Success (SAS) to learn about the district’s sustainable engineering and design (SED) program. SAS Principal Vicki Puckett, Damen Schuneman, director of career and college readiness, and Mike Wierusz, SED teacher, provided an overview of SAS and SED; and Gilda Wheeler, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, provided an overview of Washington state’s sustainability standards. Also on hand was Amy Leslie, Timbercrest Junior High sustainable design teacher, selected as one of 24 teachers in the U.S. traveling to Japan as a participant in the teacher exchange program.
The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) program is designed to raise awareness of ESD-oriented school programs, enhance ESD-related curricula in both countries and deepen a sense of global interconnectedness between teachers in Japan and the United States in four vital areas of ESD focus: food and sustainable nutrition; environment; energy and resources; and international understanding and cooperation.