Superintendent Receives International Gift

Published May 31, 2013

It's not every day that you get a hand-delivered gift from Kazakhstan, but that's exactly what happened to WCS Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney May 30 as Ravenwood High School Human Geography Teacher Kristi Brand-Neuroth delivered to him the seal to the city of Kostanay.

The seal was given to her by the governor of the city when she visited the country for a two-week program called Teachers With Global Classrooms.

“They bring teachers from all over the United States to travel to various countries to learn, to build connections around the globe and to improve education on both sides,” said Brand-Neuroth. “The governor of the city that I stayed in invited us to his office and he wanted me to present the seal to Dr. Looney as a sign of gratitude and as a symbol of a bridge between our cultures.”

Brand-Neuroth is excited to be an ambassador between the two cultures and wants to continue to encourage others to take these kinds of opportunities and support teachers as they pursue professional development.

“I think we are a county that is increasingly focused on 21st century skills,” said Brand-Neuroth. “We are not hiding from the rest of the world, but we are learning from the rest of the world. We are making connections around the globe because we live in a world today that is increasingly connected through technology and the internet and this is a great way for our students to get a piece of that before they leave our schools.”