Laguna's EK-12 STEM Coordinator Zack Moore Receives Fulbright Award

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and is designed to build relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries that are needed to solve global challenges. Moore is one of 13 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad as part of the program in 2019 and was selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential.

Moore will head to Ghana in West Africa for the month of November to facilitate STEM integration in an Islamic girl’s secondary school. He began his educational journey in Ghana twenty years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer. “I taught physics and worked on initiatives for female inclusion in STEM fields way back then,” says Moore. “A Fulbright program focusing on my field of expertise and passion—STEM integration for girls—seems serendipitous and will give me an opportunity to come full circle.”

Recognized at Laguna for his many contributions over the past 15 years, Moore was honored in 2010 with the Faculty Excellence Award and went on to create and run the Middle School Advisory program, as well as develop an EK-12 vision for STEM infusion into a traditional liberal arts education. He built out the middle and upper school elective sequences in computer science, engineering, and robotics; and co-designed Eighth Grade Science from a traditional physical science class to a thematic interdisciplinary journey. In addition, he created and ran the school’s first LEGO engineering competition, and co-created Laguna’s first joint LS/MS robotics club.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 390,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, professionals and scientists the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all fields, while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the United States’ long-term interests. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many areas, including 60 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 86 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

The Fulbright DAST program runs in two cycles per year and projects last for two to six weeks. The program gives U.S. K-12 teachers the opportunity to share their expertise with colleagues, students, and other stakeholders in another country. They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to serve as educational consultants and support projects identified by a host institution in the country, such as a school, a non-profit organization or teacher training institution.