The Astor International Travel Fellowship for New York City Teachers, made possible through a generous gift from Mrs. Brooke Astor, celebrates the accomplishments of full-time classroom teachers in the New York City public schools by awarding them a fully-sponsored educational fellowship with NYU Steinhardt faculty.
2025 Theme: Building Bridges: Working with Newcomer Students and Multilingual Learners
Given the recent influx of newcomer students (including refugees and asylum seekers) in New York City public schools, teachers must be prepared to serve newcomer students and multilingual learners across disciplines and age groups. The 2025 Astor Fellows cohort will travel to Paris, France, to learn about European models for bilingual education and working with newcomer students, expand their understanding of the field, and strengthen their teaching practice.
Following the Fellows' travels in Summer 2025, participants will present about their experiences at a Symposium event in late October 2025. This is an opportunity for the participants to reflect on their travels, share the impact of the program on their pedagogy and classroom practices, and promote innovation in teaching. The symposium is attended by the NYU community, teacher colleagues, and alumni of the program.
We seek to recruit a diverse cohort of Fellows teaching at all levels and across academic disciplines within the NYC public school system. Please note that Fellows do not receive NYU course credit or continuing education credit.
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Location
The 2025 cohort will travel to Paris, France.
Dates
The group will depart New York City on July 23 and return on August 2. Fellows are asked to commit to attending 1-2 pre-travel events in Spring 2025 as well as a post-travel Symposium in late October 2025.
Faculty
Robin E. Harvey, Clinical Associate Professor of TESOL, Bilingual and World Language Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning
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- Guest lectures from professionals working at bilingual schools and schools serving immigrant and newcomer populations
- Visits to local cultural/religious/educational organizations supporting immigrant education
- Conversations with individuals and teams working at nongovernmental organizations that support newcomer students and families
- Walking tours of neighborhoods in flux
The listed activities are representative of the general types of experiences the group will undertake while in Paris. The full itinerary will be shared with the 2025 Fellows closer to the group's departure.
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NYU Steinhardt, through the generous support of the estate of Mrs. Brooke Astor, will cover the following participant expenses:
- Roundtrip, economy-class group airfare
- Single hotel accommodation during all program dates
- Program activities, including tours, lectures, museum visits, and more
- Ground transportation for official program activities
- Some daily meals
- Supplemental international health insurance
Participants are responsible for the following costs:
- Transportation to/from airports
- Obtaining or renewing a passport and any visa expenses
- Some meals and any personal incidental expenses
- Any independent activities, visits, or transportation outside of official program activities
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Who can participate:
In order to be eligible to apply for this opportunity, you must:
- Be a current, full-time classroom teacher in a New York City public or DOE charter school
- Have completed at least three years of full-time teaching experience in NYC public and/or DOE charter schools as of the date of application
- Not be a previous recipient of the Astor Fellowship
Please note: School staff other than full-time classroom teachers (i.e., substitute teachers, administrators, counselors, principals, etc.) are not eligible to apply.
Application Process:
To apply, applicants must:
- Provide information about their current teaching position
- Upload a copy of their resume/CV
- Respond to three short-answer essay questions describing:
- The ways in which you anticipate contributing to the Fellows’ collective learning community
- How you will utilize the experiences from the Astor Fellowship in your classroom upon your return
- A classroom activity you have used in the past that is relevant to this year’s theme
- Provide the name and contact information for a professional recommendation. Recommendations should be from a fellow teacher or administrator who currently works (or has previously worked) with the applicant. Recommenders will be asked to confirm the applicant's years of work in NYC public schools, and their recommendation should speak to the applicant's background, current work, and service inside and outside of the classroom
Competitive applications should:
- Discuss how participating in the program will enhance your practice as a classroom teacher
- Describe the ways the theme relates to your work
- Demonstrate a critical reflection of your own cultural identity and its influence on classroom practice
- Show an interest in and commitment to issues of diversity, social justice, and antibias education; for example, through lessons or curricular choices
Application Link and Deadline:
The application for the Astor International Travel Fellowship for New York City Teachers is now available.
All applications and recommendations must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM (EST) on January 31, 2025, to be considered. Top candidates will be invited to interview in February, and the 2025 Fellows will be notified of their selection by the end of March.
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For questions about the program or application process, please contact astor.fellows@nyu.edu.