Rockwood Music Teacher Earns Global Learning Fellowship

Rachel Johnson, music teacher at the Rockwood School District Center for Creative Learning (CCL) is one of two educators from the state of Missouri to be named a 2026-2027 National Education Association (NEA) Foundation Global Learning Fellow.

She is part of a cohort of around 50 teachers from across the country embarking on a yearlong professional learning experience focused on educating and empowering students for global citizenship, culminating in a 10-day field study in Peru next summer.

“I’m still in shock. I still don’t believe it,” Johnson said. “I can’t wait to learn about how other people teach around the United States. I’m excited to learn what works and doesn’t for them, then we’ll all go together to another country to learn something completely different. It’s kind of like the best of both worlds.”

Over the next year, Johnson and her cohort will engage in coursework, webinars, collaborative learning opportunities and professional development designed to strengthen their global competencies. Fellows work alongside NEA Foundation staff, partners and program alumni, exploring ways to bring global perspectives into their classrooms and schools.

The fellowship concludes with a capstone project that allows participants to share their learning with fellow educators.

Johnson taught at Westridge Elementary previous to the CCL and said she enjoys connecting with and learning about the variety of cultures represented by students and families in Rockwood.

In her music classes, she frequently features cultures and customs from around the world in her lessons.

“I try to connect every piece of culture back to my classroom, back to music, back to if they were ever outside of my classroom, how they would connect with someone else who doesn’t look like them,” Johnson said.