Lynwood Middle School history teacher Dr. Dawndria Cox will tour the ruins of Ancient Greece this summer as a recipient of the William Sanders Scarborough Fellowship, while Superintendent Dr. Gudiel R. Crosthwaite and Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Dr. Shawna Dinkins will embark on a 2022 innovation study in New Zealand as District leaders were selected for international study.
The Scarborough Fellowship is worth $10,000 and will cover all expenses related to the tour, such as airfare, lodging, museum entrance fees, and tuition to the prestigious six-week summer program.
“When I received the letter, I was so excited I kept reading it over and over. I was so shocked,” Dr. Cox said. “I have been fascinated with Ancient Greece since I first started reading Greek mythology. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and one that I will share with my students and peers.”
As a Scarborough Fellow, Cox will split her time between studying museums and monuments in Athens and taking extended field trips to Crete, the Peloponnese and northern Greece, visiting dozens of historical sites that span the full range of Greece’s history – from the Bronze Age to the Classical Greek and Roman eras, through the Byzantine period to the 21st century. Cox also will conduct her own independent research.
Crosthwaite and Dinkins were selected to travel to New Zealand as a part of a University of Surrey partnership with the League of Innovative Schools, of which LUSD is a part of. The tour will include a special social-emotional learning experience and dive into SEL strategies and connections.
Cox’s goal is to bring her students a historical perspective that goes beyond what they find in textbooks, preparing them to be global citizens. For Cox, using archeology as a primary source brings life to her lesson plans, inspiring her students to research their own family histories and learn the origins of their last names and their ancestors.
“I stress to my students the importance of knowing their own place in history, that what has happened in the past has a direct correlation to the present. I want them to feel that their future has no limits,” Cox said. “For my colleagues, I want to bring awareness to the tangibility of this type of historical data and opportunity.”
Cox teaches her students the importance of cultural exchange, encouraging them to write letters to pen pals in Syria as part of the Mesopotamia Project. Recently, a dozen of her history students participated in a UCLA Zoom conference with Dr. Irving Finkel, an Assyriologist with the British Museum. Students discussed Mesopotamian art and archeology and what will be expected of them in college.
William Sanders Scarborough was a pioneering African American teacher and writer. His book “First Lessons in Greek”, published in 1881, was the first foreign language textbook by an African American author. Scarborough’s dream to study at the American School in Athens was never realized, but the Fellowship in his name provides support and resources for scholars and researchers of color who seek residency at the school.
“We are thrilled that Dr. Cox has received this most prestigious fellowship, with the goal of providing her students firsthand knowledge of her experiences and a more thorough understanding of American history,” Superintendent Crosthwaite said. “Lynwood Unified is committed to teaching our students to be global citizens who are college and career ready, on their way to becoming leaders in their communities. Furthermore, LUSD is working hard to bring innovative practices and teaching methods to our schools through these exciting international partnerships.”