🤔Interessantes

Having served as coordinator in the German-American Partnership exchange Program (GAPP) since 2011, Chad "Herr" Donovan was selected by the Goethe Institut as 1 of only 5 teachers from the USA to participate in the very first GATE (German-American Teacher Exchange) program. He served as host to Herr Lukas Laschewski from Cologne, Germany for two weeks, both in his home, and in his German classroom at PGHS. The goal of the program is to enrich the teaching of their respective languages and cultures, by giving the teachers time to focus all of their energy and attention into immersing themselves in the daily lives at the schools and in the homes of their exchange partners.  While visiting Pottsgrove, Herr Laschewski shared many interesting things about his home, his culture, and his own school in Cologne with Herr Donovan's classes, and even taught a few lessons himself. He also spent a day visiting PGMS working with Donna "Frau" Richards to enrich her German classes for the day. The students learned a great deal, and thoroughly enjoyed Herr Laschewski's visits to both PGHS & PGMS.

One weekend was occupied by a trip to the Goethe Institut in Washington DC, and in keeping with the German idea of promoting environmentalism, two pairs of teachers carpooled from Southeastern PA. While in DC, the whole group of pilot teacher exchange program participants collaborated in a workshop to lay the groundwork for intercultural transatlantic projects, learned about all of the outreach opportunities sponsored by the Goethe Institut, provided feedback regarding the pilot program, visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and visited the Lincoln Memorial. Herr Donovan reciprocated the exchange visit to Herr Laschewski's school in Düsseldorf, Schloßgymnasium Benrath spring of 2026.