MBJH teacher receives NEH grant
Mountain Brook Junior High Latin teacher Michael Posey was recognized in May as a National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) grant recipient. This marked Posey’s fifth awarded NEH fellowship.
This summer, Posey delved into a three-week deep-dive addressing “Timeless Parallels: Veteran Voices and Classical Literature” at the invitation of The Hill School (Pennsylvania) and Valencia College (Florida).
This Institute enabled secondary school teachers to develop curricula that draw parallels between the experience of veterans in the modern and ancient worlds, exploring such issues as homecoming and reintegration into civilian life.
After an international trip to Spain, Posey first traveled to Tampa, Florida, as an invited College Board reader to grade and score Advanced Placement Latin exams.
Later in June, Posey attended the 2022 American Classical League Institute with MBHS Latin teacher Drew Lasater. This year’s Institute was held at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. Through the annual ACL Institute Summer Workshop, elementary, secondary and college teachers of classical languages and classical culture enjoy professional development, continuing education credits and camaraderie with other Latin language and Greek language instructors.
From Charleston, Posey then journeyed to Boulder, Colorado, to complete his training as an “Emerging Leader” of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 13,000 language educators and administrators from elementary through graduate education, as well as government and industry. Posey was tapped to be a member of the latest Leadership Initiative for Language Learning (LILL) cohort.
LILL was established in 2015 to “empower individuals to become agents for change, in order to foster a growth mindset focused on effective teaching and learning, and purposeful nurturing of leadership skills, all in the service of learners.” It has evolved into a two-year initial commitment (with participation in two LILL Summer Institutes, plus collegial support and sessions during the intervening academic year) that continues beyond graduation through a lifelong leadership trajectory. There are currently 126 LILL graduates from Cohorts 1-3. Cohort 4 started its two-year journey in spring 2021.
After LILL training, Posey joined a selected group of educators in Pennsylvania to participate in this NEH fellowship. Although most of Posey's time was spent in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, there were two planned trips to Pennsylvania State University and also New York City.
– Submitted by Mountain Brook Schools and edited by the Village Living staff.