NEWARK, N.J. – No sooner had Shawn Adler gotten off a plane from England on Friday when he found out that he received an award from the federal government’s prestigious Fulbright Program.

“We circled for two-hours, and they shut off the WIFI,” said Adler, a Science Park High School teacher of English Language Arts and Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology, recalling his flight’s approach to Kennedy Airport. “Then we landed, I finally got service, and got the email.”

The email said Adler was selected to participate in the Fulbright Program in 2024-2025 as a recipient of a Fulbright Teacher Exchange award. The particular program Adler will participate in, called Teachers For Global Classrooms, will help him develop as a teacher of classes consisting of students of different nationalities and cultures. He will attend synchronous online classes, participate in a two-day symposium in Washington, D.C., and travel to educational destinations that will be determined later in the school year by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

“It’s all about global citizenship – learning better skills that I can bring back to my own students at Science Park and throughout Newark,” said Adler. “I think that kind of exchange is at the core of what a Fulbright award is.”

“The diversity among our students is one of Newark Public Schools’ greatest strengths. It also challenges our educators to be mindful of every student’s culture as they teach,” said Superintendent of Schools Roger León. “The knowledge that Mr. Adler will receive from the Fulbright Program is aimed at meeting that challenge. I congratulate Mr. Adler and look forward to seeing our students benefit from all that he learns as a Fulbright educator.”

“On behalf of the Board of Education, I congratulate Mr. Adler on receiving this honor and bringing such immense pride to Science Park High School and Newark Public Schools,” said Board President Hasani K. Council. “This opportunity will help Mr. Adler grow as an empathic teacher who understands each student’s cultural background and helps them achieve excellence in his classes.”

“Mr. Adler’s commitment to his students drives him to learn everything he can to be a better teacher, which is why he seeks out opportunities such as the Fulbright Program,” said Science Park High School Principal Darleen Gearhart. “We are very proud of Mr. Adler’s achievement and greatly appreciate everything that he brings to the Science Park High School community.”

The Fulbright Program is the United States Government’s flagship international academic exchange program. It was founded in 1946 with the goal of increasing mutual understanding and to support friendly and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Adler’s Fulbright Award is the latest in a series of honors he has received since coming to the district from Cliffside Park High School two years ago. The flight he took home from England on Friday followed his completing three weeks of studying Victorian and contemporary English literature at Oxford University. Adler had received a scholarship for the program from the English-Speaking Union, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering global understanding and goodwill through English language education.

Last October, Adler was nominated for the Global Teacher Prize, the “Nobel Prize of Education,” an honor made available by the Varkey Foundation and UNESCO, in recognition of his work editing a series of student memoir collections each showcasing the voices of New Jersey’s most vulnerable students, including “The Class of COVID-19,” “The Helpers,” and “We Were Strangers Once, Too.” The last title features stories of immigration and culture from 58 Newark high school students.

The awards, nominations, and scholarships have garnered tremendous attention for Adler, a former entertainment journalist who began teaching seven years ago. They have also enhanced Adler’s teaching.

“My students have continuously benefitted from these global partnerships that I have been very fortunate to develop,” he said. “I’ve brought in lessons, materials and relationships into my classroom.”

As he continues on the road to becoming a tenured teacher, Adler says it is his colleagues at Science Park who provide him with some of the best professional development.

“I am always humbled,” he said. “I always feel like I have so much to learn from them.”