Author: International Alliance Group

At IAG, we believe a cultural exchange journey can also be an opportunity for continued learning and professional growth.

Today, we are proud to celebrate IAG Teacher Nebongo Andrew, who recently earned a Master of Science in Chemistry from Grand Canyon University while continuing his responsibilities as a full-time educator.

Completing a graduate degree is an important accomplishment on its own. Balancing university studies with the everyday commitment of teaching full-time makes this milestone especially meaningful.

A Commitment to Continued Learning

Professional development can take many forms, and Nebongo’s achievement reflects a strong commitment to continuing his education while building his experience as an international teacher in the United States.

Earning his master’s degree required dedication, time, and perseverance—and represents another important step in his professional journey.

For IAG, seeing teachers pursue opportunities to learn, grow, and strengthen their expertise is something worth celebrating.

Supported Along the Journey

When Nebongo shared the news of his graduation with IAG, he also shared a message that meant a great deal to our team:

“Thank you for always supporting and encouraging us to continue with professional development. The IAG team is always amazing.”

His words reflect an important part of the IAG experience: our support continues throughout the cultural exchange journey.

Beyond helping teachers prepare for their experience in the United States, we want to encourage them to continue learning, developing professionally, and making the most of the opportunities their journey brings.

Congratulations, Nebongo!

We are proud to celebrate Nebongo Andrew and this important academic and professional milestone.

Congratulations on earning your Master of Science in Chemistry from Grand Canyon University!

Your commitment to continuing your education while teaching full-time is an achievement worth recognizing, and we are honored to have been part of the support behind your journey.

At IAG, we are proud to celebrate the achievements of international educators and the impact they make within their school communities.

Today, we celebrate IAG Teacher Thessia Montaque, who was recognized with the Westside Impact 2026 Teacher of the Year Award by Fowler Elementary School District in May 2026.

A Recognition Worth Celebrating

Teacher of the Year recognition represents the dedication educators bring to their classrooms and school communities every day.

For Thessia, this award marks an important milestone in her journey as an international educator in the United States and recognizes the contribution she has made within her educational community.

Her achievement is also another example of the meaningful impact international teachers can create through educational and cultural exchange—sharing their knowledge and perspectives while building connections with students, colleagues, and communities in the United States.

Every cultural exchange journey is different, but behind each one are educators who embrace new experiences, adapt to new educational environments, and bring their own knowledge, culture, and perspective into their classrooms.

Congratulations, Thessia Montaque, on being recognized as a 2026 Teacher of the Year.

We are proud to have you as part of the IAG community and to celebrate this well-deserved achievement with you.

Some professional milestones are especially meaningful because they represent more than an award. They reflect growth, dedication, relationships, and the impact an educator is beginning to make within a school community.

For Jessie S. Tagaylo, a fifth-grade science teacher at Henderson Hammock Charter School, one of those moments came when she was recognized as her school’s New Educator of the Year.

But the recognition didn’t stop there.

Following this achievement, Jessie was selected to advance as a candidate for consideration at the regional/area level, extending a school-level honor into another opportunity to have her work as an educator recognized.

At IAG, we are proud to celebrate this milestone and the journey behind it.

A Meaningful Recognition

Receiving the New Educator of the Year recognition was a particularly meaningful moment for Jessie.

In sharing the news with IAG, she described the honor as both humbling and significant—not simply because of the recognition itself, but because of everything that contributed to reaching that moment.

For Jessie, the award reflects the guidance, opportunities, encouragement, and support she has received throughout her professional journey.

That perspective makes the recognition about more than one individual achievement. It becomes part of a larger story of professional development and the relationships that help educators continue growing.

Taking the Next Step

Jessie’s recognition at Henderson Hammock Charter School also opened the door to another milestone.

As part of being named New Educator of the Year, she was selected to advance as one of the candidates under consideration at the regional/area level.

It is an opportunity Jessie describes as both an honor and a responsibility.

Moving forward in the recognition process also reflects something important about professional growth: one accomplishment can become the beginning of another opportunity to learn, represent a school community, and continue making an impact.

Whatever comes next, being selected to advance is already an achievement worth celebrating.

Growth Through an International Teaching Journey

As a fifth-grade science teacher, Jessie’s journey is also part of a broader story about the contribution international educators can make within U.S. schools.

Entering a new educational environment requires experience, but it also calls for adaptability, curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to continue learning. Over time, those experiences can shape teachers both inside and outside the classroom.

For Jessie, professional growth has been accompanied by people who have believed in her and encouraged her along the way.

When she shared the news of her recognition with IAG, she made a point of expressing her gratitude:

“I wanted to share this milestone with you because you have been part of my professional growth, and I deeply appreciate your belief in me.”

For us, those words are particularly meaningful.

Support That Continues Throughout the Journey

At IAG, we believe support for international educators should extend beyond preparing for the cultural exchange experience.

Teachers continue learning, adapting, and growing after they enter their U.S. classrooms. That is why ongoing guidance and encouragement remain an important part of the journey.

Jessie’s achievement belongs to her. It reflects the work, dedication, and commitment she brings to her students and school community.

We are simply honored that she considers IAG part of the community that has supported her along the way.

And seeing educators reach milestones like this is one of the most rewarding parts of being part of their cultural exchange journeys.

Recognition That Reflects Something Bigger

Awards provide a moment to celebrate, but what they represent can extend much further.

Behind Jessie’s New Educator of the Year recognition are the everyday moments that define an educator’s impact: preparing lessons, helping students understand a new science concept, adapting when something doesn’t work, collaborating with colleagues, and continuing to grow professionally.

Those moments rarely happen all at once. Together, however, they build a teacher’s story.

Jessie’s progression from being recognized within her school to advancing for regional/area consideration is an exciting reflection of that journey.

It also demonstrates how an international educator can become a recognized and valued member of a school community while continuing to grow through the cultural exchange experience.

Celebrating Jessie S. Tagaylo

At IAG, we are proud to celebrate Jessie S. Tagaylo on being named New Educator of the Year at Henderson Hammock Charter School and on advancing for consideration at the regional/area level.

Jessie shared this milestone with gratitude for those who have supported her journey.

Today, we return that gratitude with recognition of our own.

Congratulations, Jessie. We are proud of what you have accomplished and honored to be part of your journey.

Starting a teaching experience in a new country comes with opportunities to learn, adapt, connect, and grow. For Angela Austria, an international mathematics teacher from the Philippines, that journey has also led to a meaningful recognition from her school community.

Angela, who teaches middle school mathematics at Six Mile Charter Academy in Fort Myers, Florida, was named the school’s New Teacher of the Year for 2024–2025.

The recognition is especially meaningful because it came from the people who have experienced Angela’s dedication firsthand. All new teachers were initially considered for the award, and the school community had the opportunity to vote. After the selection was narrowed to five finalists, another vote ultimately named Angela the winner.

For IAG, it is a proud moment to see an international educator recognized by the community she has become part of.

A Meaningful Recognition From Her School Community

Being a new teacher means learning a new environment while simultaneously building relationships with students, colleagues, and the wider school community.

Doing so as an international teacher adds another dimension to that experience.

Angela arrived from the Philippines bringing her own educational background, teaching experience, and perspective into a U.S. middle school mathematics classroom. Her recognition as New Teacher of the Year reflects the impression she has already made at Six Mile Charter Academy.

And because the award was determined through a voting process, it carries a particularly meaningful message: the people around Angela saw something worth recognizing.

From an initial group of new teachers to five finalists—and ultimately one recipient—Angela was selected by her school community as the 2024–2025 winner.

From the Philippines to a Florida Classroom

International teacher cultural exchange is built on the idea that educators bring much more than their subject knowledge into a classroom.

They bring perspectives shaped by another educational system, another culture, and another community.

As a mathematics teacher from the Philippines teaching middle school students in Fort Myers, Angela represents that exchange every day. Her classroom is a place not only for mathematics instruction, but also for the relationships and interactions that allow students and educators from different backgrounds to learn from one another.

That is what makes recognition like this especially meaningful. It celebrates excellent teaching while also demonstrating how an international educator can become a valued part of a U.S. school community.

Support Along the Journey

For Angela, receiving the award was also an opportunity to recognize the people who supported her throughout her international teaching journey.

After receiving the honor, she shared a special message with IAG:

“I would like to sincerely thank IAG USA for your incredible support and guidance. Without IAG, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this honor. This award is as much yours as it is mine!”

Her words reflect something we believe strongly at IAG: support should continue throughout the cultural exchange experience.

The journey does not end when an international teacher arrives in the United States or enters the classroom for the first time. Adapting to a new country, school community, and educational environment is an ongoing experience, and having guidance along the way can make a meaningful difference.

Angela earned this recognition through her own dedication and commitment to her students. We are simply proud to have been part of the support system behind her journey.

When Cultural Exchange Becomes Community

One of the most meaningful parts of international teacher cultural exchange happens gradually.

A new classroom becomes familiar. Colleagues become collaborators. Students become relationships that matter. And a teacher who arrived from another part of the world becomes part of the school community.

Angela’s recognition captures that progression beautifully.

Being selected as New Teacher of the Year is not only an individual achievement. It is also evidence of the connections she has created and the contribution her school community sees in her.

Her journey from the Philippines to Florida demonstrates how cultural exchange can create a sense of belonging while allowing educators to share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives in a completely new environment.

Celebrating Angela Austria

At IAG, we are incredibly proud to celebrate Angela Austria and her recognition as Six Mile Charter Academy’s New Teacher of the Year for 2024–2025.

Her achievement represents dedication to teaching, openness to a new educational environment, and the meaningful relationships international educators can build within their school communities.

But perhaps Angela herself said it best when she chose to share the recognition with everyone who supported her along the way.

That spirit of connection is at the heart of cultural exchange.

Congratulations, Angela. Your IAG community is proud to be part of your journey.

There is a moment every educator lives for — the instant when a student who has been sitting in the back of the classroom, arms crossed and eyes elsewhere, suddenly leans forward. For the students of Adams 14 School District in Colorado, that moment came when Jeanie Mae Hernal walked through the door. 

Jeanie arrived from the Philippines through IAG’s J-1 Cultural Exchange Program carrying 8 years of teaching experience, a background in Chemical Engineering, and a Master’s in Education. But what she brought that no degree could certify was something far more rare: a cultural lens that would permanently change how her students saw themselves, each other, and the world around them. 

A Concept That Changed Everything 

Drawing from a deeply rooted Filipino value called Bayanihan — the spirit of communal unity, where everyone contributes to a shared goal — Jeanie redesigned how her classroom functioned from the ground up. 

Rather than traditional group work where one student tends to carry the others, she built what she calls the Classroom Bayanihan Model: complex challenges where every student holds a specific, non-negotiable role. A Leader. A Time-keeper. A Devil’s Advocate. A Presenter. No one could coast. No one could hide. 

The results were almost immediate. 

“The room filled with this productive, noisy energy of students debating solutions, drawing diagrams on whiteboards, and teaching each other,” Jeanie recalls. “I remember thinking — this is exactly what learning is supposed to sound like.” 

What Changed in the Students 

The transformation went far beyond test scores, though those improved too. What Jeanie’s students gained was something that will serve them long after they leave her classroom. 

They stopped being afraid of being wrong. In a culture that often treats mistakes as failures, Jeanie modeled and celebrated the process of getting things wrong, adjusting, and trying again — a core value in Filipino education that her students had never been explicitly taught. 

They learned to rely on each other. Students who had previously worked in isolation discovered that their peers were resources, not competition. The classroom dynamic shifted from individual performance to collective problem-solving. 

They connected their education to the real world. By designing lessons around sports scenarios, gamified challenges, and real-life physics applications, Jeanie made her students feel that what they were learning actually mattered outside of school. Students who had previously been written off as disengaged suddenly began asking questions that went beyond the curriculum. 

They became globally curious. Perhaps most remarkably, Jeanie’s openness about her Filipino heritage — sharing values like pag-aaruga (nurturing) and pakikisama (getting along), bringing traditional foods to staff meetings, weaving cultural context into her lessons — sparked something unexpected in her students. They began asking questions like “How do they solve this problem in other countries?” A question that, a semester earlier, would have been unthinkable from the same group. 

Recognized Beyond the Classroom 

The impact of Jeanie’s approach did not go unnoticed. She was recognized as a Pioneer Teacher in the ACED Academy and went on to present at the National Science Teacher Conference in Denver — a remarkable achievement for any educator, let alone one navigating a new country, a new school culture, and a new educational system simultaneously. 

Her colleagues and administrators reached for the same words when describing her: unstoppable, passionate, an inspiration. Not because she followed the existing playbook, but because she rewrote it. 

What This Means for School Districts 

Jeanie’s story is not an isolated case. It is a window into what happens when a school district opens its community to the J-1 Cultural Exchange Program and welcomes an international educator whose background, perspective, and teaching philosophy are genuinely different from what already exists in the building. 

The students who once sat in the back of a Colorado classroom with their arms crossed are now resilient, collaborative, globally aware young people. Not because someone fixed them — but because someone finally saw them differently. 

That is the real impact of cultural exchange in education. And it starts with one teacher walking through the door. 

Is your school district ready to experience this kind of transformation? At IAG, we connect passionate, experienced international educators with school communities across the United States through the J-1 Cultural Exchange Program. 

Learn how your district can partner with IAG 

When Ibrahim Mohammed first walked into a classroom in Arizona, he brought with him something no teacher training program can replicate: eight years of lived experience navigating the rich complexity of special education in West Africa. 

Ibrahim holds a Bachelor of Education in Special Education from the University of Education, Winneba — one of Ghana’s leading teacher training institutions — and a Diploma in Basic Education. Today, he teaches SPED English to K-9 and K-10 students at the Sahuarita Unified School District in Arizona, part of the IAG International Teacher Exchange Program. 

A Mission Bigger Than a Classroom 

Ibrahim didn’t apply to teach in the United States on a whim. His motivation was deliberate and outward-looking: “I wanted to equip myself with international best practices in teaching and to prepare myself as a global teacher while I share my experiences and culture with students in the United States of America.” 

That framing — preparing himself and sharing himself simultaneously — captures the dual value of international teacher exchange. It isn’t a one-way transfer of talent. It’s a sustained conversation between educational cultures. 

“My principal told me I’m doing so well and he believes I will leave a mark.” 
— Ibrahim Mohammed, on feedback from his administrator 

Teaching with RPK: A Ghanaian Pedagogical Gift 

Among the most tangible contributions Ibrahim has brought from his Ghanaian training is a deliberate, structured approach to Relevant Previous Knowledge (RPK) — a foundational principle of Ghanaian pedagogy that begins every lesson by connecting new content to what students already know from their own lives and experiences. 

“I build and present my lessons taking into consideration the relevant previous knowledge of my students and it has been very helpful,” he explains. In a special education setting, this approach is especially powerful: students with learning differences benefit greatly when new material is anchored in the familiar, reducing cognitive load and increasing engagement. 

WHAT IS RPK-BASED INSTRUCTION? 

Relevant Previous Knowledge (RPK) is a teaching method rooted in Ghanaian educational tradition. Rather than introducing new concepts in isolation, teachers begin every lesson by surfacing what students already know — their experiences, prior learning, and cultural context — and building new knowledge from that foundation. It aligns closely with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles widely recognized in U.S. special education. 

The Culture He Carries, the Culture He’s Found 

In his interactions with colleagues and students, Ibrahim has shared what makes Ghana distinctly Ghana: its educational philosophy, its vibrant festivals, and the cultural meaning behind Ghanaian names — each one carrying a story, a lineage, a worldview. 

WHAT IBRAHIM SHARES WITH HIS SCHOOL 

• Ghana’s educational system and its philosophy 

• Traditional Ghanaian festivals and tourist landmarks 

• The cultural significance of Ghanaian names 

Perhaps the most meaningful result he has observed in his students is a growing capacity for self-advocacy. “My students are able to advocate for themselves,” he says. In special education, that outcome is not incidental — it is the goal. 

What Districts Gain — and What the World Needs 

Ask Ibrahim what a school district gains by hiring international teachers, and his answer is expansive: “It helps the students and staff to see the World beyond the United States of America.” 

For district and school leaders, he offers a message as urgent as it is hopeful: cultural exchange makes students not just better learners, but better global citizens — equipped to embrace diversity and participate meaningfully in an interconnected world. 

For his community in Ghana, he has a different kind of testimony: “I have experienced growth and development in my career as a teacher.” Simple. True. And a powerful invitation for others considering the same path.

What Comes Next 

Ibrahim’s goals in the United States are ambitious and concrete. He wants to be counted among the best teachers in his district — and to see measurable improvements in his students’ academic performance. Both goals reflect the same core drive: excellence in service of others. 

His principal already believes he’ll leave a mark. His students are learning to speak up for themselves. And an entire school community in southern Arizona is getting a window into a world they might never have seen otherwise. That is what international teaching looks like when it works. 

The Value of Opening Doors to the World 

For school districts, integrating international exchange teachers is far more than a way to strengthen the faculty; it is an invitation to expand the horizons of the entire educational community. The presence of educators like Ibrahim Mohammed allows students—particularly those in special education settings—to develop deeper empathy and a genuine understanding of cultural diversity. 

By participating in cultural exchange programs, districts do more than just adopt innovative pedagogical methodologies like RPK; they foster an environment where global curiosity is woven into the daily curriculum. It is an opportunity to transform the school into a true international meeting point, preparing students to participate meaningfully in an increasingly interconnected world. 

Enrich your school community with the gift of global diversity. Discover how hosting international exchange teachers can transform your district’s culture and broaden your students’ horizons far beyond the classroom walls.