West Windsor-Plainsboro Learning Consultant Visits South Africa

Mary Hull, a learning consultant at Dutch Neck Elementary School in the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, will be journeying to South Africa this summer for a select 18-day program connecting American educators with leading South African scholars and students. The group will be examining the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid in that country, along with the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in the United States.

While in South Africa, Hull will visit the Apartheid Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Castle of Good Hope, slave lodges, the District 6 Museum, and Robben Island. During her studies, she will be involved in a local community service project, taking her from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Soweto and Lesdi. The study group will visit two schools, one in a black township and another on a remote farm.

The program, sponsored by Rutgers University, is part of a larger effort to build a bridge between South Africa and the rest of the world.

“We have already met with Desmond Tutu in an amazing program,” said Hull. “We have a few additional meetings before we set off on our trip. I want to understand how the school system is able to deal with the differences between and among groups in local towns and how to find common ground to bring these groups together for the betterment of the entire town or district. I believe that by understanding the factors that impact their lives, we will be able to make suggestions and recommendations for positive change.”

—By Gerri Hunter, Public Information Officer, West Windsor-Plainsboro School District