Susan O'Rourke | December 6, 2021
UNC World View is excited to announce that Courtney Harris-Brown has joined our organization as the Assistant Director for the UNC World View Teacher Student Initiative.
Courtney comes to UNC World View with over 20 years of experience in education. Her teaching experience is rooted in Wake County, where she taught at Carroll Middle School in Raleigh. Courtney also holds a Master’s in School Administration and served as an intern administrator at West Millbrook Magnet Middle School in Raleigh. Most recently, Courtney taught at East Wake High School and has worked as an educational consultant.
Courtney values an interdisciplinary approach to education. As a culinary arts and teen living teacher, Courtney frequently encouraged students to tie together their studies in class with their learning in classes like science, math, and ELA. By helping students make these connections, Courtney fostered students’ intellectual curiosity and help them understand the real-world impact of different subjects.
Courtney’s classes also helped students understand the complex sets of knowledge that come together in a kitchen—whether local or global. As they discussed cooking techniques, students reflected on the experimentation used in recipe development and the rich cultural history found in cooking practices. In a memorable partnership with an ELA colleague, Courtney developed a series of lessons based on “global cuisines” that helped students “understand countries’ diverse food cultures, do research on their selected countries, and then complete written projects based on their research.”
Courtney’s success as an educator also comes from her belief in the power of collaboration among teachers and her commitment to mentorship. She frequently developed cross-curricular activities; worked with math, science, and ELA teachers to “integrate project-based learning” into their classrooms; and served as a mentor to both colleagues and students. As Assistant Principal, Courtney emphasized the importance of mentorship at her school in order to promote students’ social and emotional wellbeing in addition to their academic success. For Courtney, mentorship is an integral part of leadership.
Courtney expressed that she was drawn to UNC World View’s mission to support the efforts of North Carolina teachers and students to become more culturally responsive and globally-minded. She appreciates the wide range of programs, from the Fellows Program to the recent session on culturally responsive media centers, that bring together educators across grade levels and university faculty.
Courtney brings this wealth of experience and insight into North Carolina classrooms to UNC World View in her role as Assistant Director of the Teacher Student Initiative. This program will partner high school educators in eastern North Carolina with UNC faculty to help them develop globally-focused lessons on a chosen theme, introduce students to the faculty on World View Students Day, and enable students to make connections across the curriculum. Courtney has been collaborating with Prof. Aaron Salzberg, who serves as the Director of the Water Institute at UNC and teaches in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, to develop this year’s program on “Tackling the Global Water Challenge.” Teachers can apply to this spring 2022 program now and reach out to Courtney at courtney_harris_brown@unc.edu for more information. The application is available here. The deadline to apply is January 7, 2022.
We are thrilled to have Courtney as part of the UNC World View team, and we hope you’ll join us in welcoming her at the upcoming programs!