As an educator, are you interested in traveling but are not sure how to go about it? Maybe you would like to travel but don’t want to travel solo. Quite possibly, you may be intrigued by travel but are not sure how to fund your exploration. Look no further if any or all of these thoughts apply to you!
My name is Andi Webb. I am an elementary teacher from North Carolina. I recently moved to Arlington, Virginia. In May 2022, I graduated with my doctorate and in about a ten-year time span, have secured approximately half a million dollars in grant and fellowship funding.
My very first trip abroad was to Russia. Go big or go home, right? While experiencing the people and culture of Russia, I knew I needed to learn about the world all over. And, I have spent much time since that first trip abroad doing just that.
GEEO Group Travel for Educators
In 2018, I traveled with GEEO: Global Exploration for Educators Organization. GEEO is a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging and assisting as many teachers as possible to travel abroad and then share their experiences with their students upon their return to the classroom.
Over 3,800 educators have traveled with GEEO and visited 78 countries. Travel is typically in a group setting.
If you would like to save on costs, you can share a room with a fellow traveler. If you need your space, you can pay an additional fee and have your evening time alone in your own room while enjoying the fellowship of others throughout the day. If you are interested in a particular location and you do not see it on GEEO’s website, you can contact Jesse, GEEO’s Founder and Executive Director.
Sales, Graduate Credit, and Travel for Retired Teachers
Jesse is known for his responsiveness and will help you find a trip that suits your needs, even if it is not with GEEO. Would you like to take a friend with you on your trip who isn’t an educator? Talk to Jesse to work it all out to suit your individual needs.
GEEO has programs that take place at varying times of the year. This is a great aspect of GEEO because different personal and school schedules can be accommodated. Are you a retired educator? There are even programs specifically for those who are retired but are also welcome to join any of the other programs!
GEEO regularly has sales for educators to take advantage of too! It is even an option to receive university credit when traveling with GEEO. So much good stuff!
Group Travel in Morocco for Educators
When I traveled with GEEO in the spring of 2018, I had the pleasure of visiting Morocco. While GEEO is great to travel with, it is not free of charge. However, I applied for a grant through the Qatar Foundation International (QFI) to experience the people, places, and culture of Morocco while also meeting educators from across the U.S. Please check out GEEO’s programs at GEEO.
The Moroccan program I participated in with GEEO started in Casablanca. Throughout the time, our group visited Fez, Marrakech, the High Atlas Mountains, and spent a night in the Sahara Desert — truly unbelievable! We learned from locals, ate delicious food, and immersed ourselves in the sights, sounds, and smells of Morocco.
Grants from Qatar Foundation International (QFI)
QFI, Qatar Foundation International, has grant opportunities available for primary and secondary school educators who teach in a state-funded school (public or public charter schools in the U.S.). Their grants include funding for teachers to access high-quality professional development and leadership opportunities, as well as classroom resources on the teaching of Arabic language and culture. The deadlines to apply for the funding are rolling throughout the year.
QFI currently supports programs in Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. There may have been some recent changes with places QFI will fund, but many organizations have gone through changes over the past couple of years. Please read all about QFI here.
Additionally, QFI has a teacher leadership program, Arabic summer institutes, and even support different regional language education conferences in the geographies where they work. QFI provides Maharaat Grants to teachers looking to attend conferences to benefit their professional development.
As part of its mission to expand and increase access to professional development for Arabic language educators, QFI offers grants to primary and secondary Arabic educators to participate in high-quality local and regional professional development events.
Do you have specific questions? Having traveled with GEEO myself while partnering with the Qatar Foundation International, I am happy to share my perspective.
For those who want specific help on which grants and fellowships may be right for you, I am available for hire as a personal teacher grant/travel consultant for very reasonable prices depending on the needs of each individual— just reach out to me at teachandtraveltheworld at gmail.com. Need some help with planning your travel? I can help with that too! Just let me know your needs!
Check out GEEO and QFI! Again, programs with GEEO occur at varying times throughout the year and QFI has grant applications open on a rolling basis. There are ways educators can experience the world with a little work and time, not necessarily with a lot of money. Great news, right?
Want more? Browse the full Teacher Travel Grants section!
The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English from Boston who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched TeachingTraveling.com in 2010 to share expert global education resources, and over 1.6 million readers have visited over the past decade. Lillie also runs AroundTheWorld L.com Travel and Life Blog, and DrawingsOf.com for educational art. Do stay in touch via subscribing to her monthly newsletter, and following @WorldLillie on social media!