Poetry Inside Out Teaching Fellowship
The Poetry Inside Out (PIO) Teaching Fellowship, presented by the Center for the Art of Translation, is a two-year, facilitated program that supports U.S.-based educators of grades 3–12 who are interested in expanding their teaching practice through poetry, translation, and inquiry-based learning.
Fellowship Goals
Poetry Inside Out engages educators and their students in translating poems from around the world, encouraging close reading, cross-cultural appreciation, and active discussion about language and meaning. Fellows develop practices that engage students in exploring identity, culture, critical thinking, and multilingualism, helping them see themselves as global citizens. The Fellowship aims to:
- Enhance teacher capacity for implementing, documenting, and reflecting on Poetry Inside Out through a guided teacher inquiry model.
- Enrich the professional knowledge base of teaching through teacher research (e.g., articles, book chapters, conference presentations).
- Build a supportive, inquiry-based community of Poetry Inside Out practitioners.
Why Apply?
Fellows join a dynamic network of teachers, poets, translators, and academics dedicated to enriching multilingual and multicultural learning. Participants explore teaching as both practitioners and researchers to generate new insights and classroom strategies.
Who Should Apply:
We welcome U.S.-based 3rd–12th grade educators who are:
- Passionate about arts-based approaches to language, literacy, and student-centered learning.
- Interested in supporting multilingual learners and developing dynamic multilingual classroom communities.
- Committed to culturally responsive, inquiry-driven classroom practice.
- Eager to explore and integrate diverse texts and perspectives.
- Willing and able to consistently commit and contribute to a professional learning community.
Note: You do not need to speak or write in a language other than English to apply. Prior experience with Poetry Inside Out is welcome, but not required. If you’d like to dip into the curriculum, we offer several three-day virtual training sessions a year. See our Educator Workshops page for upcoming opportunities.
Over the Two-Year Fellowship, Educators:
- Dive deeply into translation and poetry, gaining the skills to integrate both into their teaching practice in a wide range of subject areas (e.g., social studies, art, world languages).
- Create and implement processes that enrich culturally responsive pedagogy.
- Build a classroom culture that supports discussion, reflection, and evidence-based argument using processes such as Academically Productive Talk Moves to support students’ collaborative conversations and reflections.
- Develop and share unique instructional materials, including original “poem pages,” which are essential for collaborative translations. Poem pages contain guidelines, a translator’s glossary, reflection prompts, the poet’s biography, and more to help students navigate the translation process.
- Develop tools, routines, and approaches to document and reflect on their ongoing teaching practice, including arts-based approaches.
- Document and share classroom practice through blog posts, videos, and other creative work.
- Participate in bi-weekly virtual meetings during the academic year (September to June) for planning, feedback, mentorship, and community engagement.
Support Includes
- A stipend for educators chosen as Fellows
- A kickoff retreat and orientation
- Access to Poetry Inside Out’s curriculum and coaching
- Ongoing mentorship from educators, researchers, and Poetry Inside Out alumni
- Opportunities to publish, present, and share work publicly at conferences, workshops, etc.
- Guidance in documenting classroom practice for broader professional audiences
Important dates:
Our next round of Fellowship applications opens in Spring 2026.
You can also learn more about the Fellowship and read about the first two cohorts of Teaching Fellows on our blog(opens in a new tab). Questions? Contact Poetry Inside Out Program Director Mark Hauber.(opens in a new tab)
Fellowship Facilitated by:
- Mark Hauber, M.Ed., Boston College, Poetry Inside Out, Program Director
- Todd Elkin, BFA, San Francisco Art Institute, M.Ed, Harvard Graduate School of Education. CLAD certified, Visual Artist, Educator, Writer
- Arzu Mistry, Artist, Educator, and Researcher
- Dr. Jie Park, BA and MA, Stanford University, Ph.D, University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor of Education, Clark University
Current Poetry Inside Out Teaching Fellows
2025–2027 Poetry Inside Out Teaching Fellows:
Saam Khanzadeh (Mission High School in San Francisco, CA), Jean Carla Rodea (Black Pine Circle School in Berkeley, CA), Jo-el Molina (Tenderloin Community School in San Francisco, CA), Jesus Manuel Morales (Winton Middle School in Hayward, CA), and Caroline Woods-Mejía (Piedmont Middle School in Piedmont, CA).
2024–2026 Poetry Inside Out Teaching Fellows:
Danielle Surrette (Claremont Academy in Worcester, MA), Anna Chaewon Jeong (Francis Scott Key School in Philadelphia, PA), M. Christopher Lopez-Cepero (San Leandro High School in San Leandro, CA), Jewel Sanchez (San Leandro High School in San Leandro, CA), and Andrea Barnes (Vaux BPHS in Philadelphia, PA).
Previous Teaching Fellows
2023–2024 Poetry Inside Out Teaching Fellows:
Carmela Martinez (Earle STEM Elementary and Kozminski Community Academy in Chicago, IL), Heidi Kern (Franklin Learning Center High School in Philadelphia, PA), Yaxha Ruvein (Presidio Hill School in San Francisco, CA), Lisa Wong (San Leandro High School in San Leandro, CA), and Sally O’Brien (Kensington Health Sciences Academy in Philadelphia, PA).
2022–2023 Poetry Inside Out Teaching Fellows:
Lisa Yau (Francis Scott Key School in Philadelphia, PA), Brandon Barr (Mark Twain Elementary in Chicago, IL), Erica Darken (Francis Scott Key School in Philadelphia, PA), Albert Burford (Mark Twain Elementary in Chicago, IL), and Akela Leach (Lanier Elementary School in Tulsa, OK).