Members of Calvert County Public Schools’ (CCPS) CHESPAX program had an opportunity to laud their success and practice some academic diplomacy Monday, April 28. Twenty-four teachers from Japan started a two-week, coast-to-coast tour of the United States with a stop at Kings Landing Park in Huntingtown. The group is visiting the U.S. through the Fulbright Japan-U.S. teacher exchange for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The program is funded by the governments of the U.S. and Japan.

Tom Harten, who has been involved in the CHESPAX program for over 20 years, greeted the visitors, many of whom listened to the remarks made through an interpreter. CHESPAX was described as a program that annually gives approximately 10,000 county’s students an outdoor environmental experience. The program is embedded within science and social studies. Additionally, the CHESPAX teachers collaborate with entities outside CCPS to provide students with on-site activities. The collaborators include the Calvert County Division of Natural Resources, Calvert Marine Museum, Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, Annmarie Garden and Calvert County Division of Solid Waste. The program is partially supported through grant funding.

“CHESPAX is a long-term investment for our children,” said Calvert County Board of Education Member Dawn Balinski. When the children learn about the environment and experience the methods for preserving it, Balinski indicated the entire county benefits. “They [students] teach their parents,” she added. The students provide their families with expertise on such eco-friendly activities as recycling and composting.

“I hope your visit is transforming,” said retired CCPS administrator Robin Shaffer, who recalled his own experience of visiting Japan through the teacher exchange. “The American education system is changing.”

Shaffer noted that the State of Maryland recently passed an “environmental literacy” graduation requirement for high school seniors.

The academic ambassadors got a chance to experience what CHESPAX students have during the nearly two generations the program has existed in Calvert. With the aid of Natural Resources staff, the group planted several trees in a wooded area north of the park’s main building.

According to Jun Ubukata, Fulbright Japan’s Special Exchange Projects manager, the 24 educators teach a variety of disciplines from the elementary to high school level. Each responded to a request for project volunteers prior to being selected for the tour.

Calvert County was the group’s first stop. Ubukata said it was selected because of Harten’s previous involvement in the exchange.

Half of the group will go to Miami, FL while the other 12 are headed to Nashville, TN. Both subgroups will be visiting schools on the tours. The ent