Built by a Teacher, for Teachers
Chalkboard Nomads grew out of more than a decade of teaching and years of leading educational and service-learning programs around the world. Along the way, I saw something again and again: some of the most valuable professional growth happens when teachers leave what is familiar, work alongside educators in a completely different setting, and come home seeing their own classrooms differently.
That idea became Chalkboard Nomads.
Our first fellowship brings a small group of educators to Uganda for 16 days of collaboration, cultural immersion, and hands-on work with teachers and students at Mustard Seed Primary School. This isn't a tour with a few school visits added in. It's an opportunity to teach, learn, share ideas, and become part of a school community.
Meet Andrew Belzer
I’m a teacher first. For more than a decade, I’ve worked in classrooms as a Spanish teacher, reading interventionist, curriculum writer, and coach. Outside the classroom, education has taken me around the world, including leading student programs in Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, Cambodia, and Thailand and working alongside schools and educators in Africa and India.
Those experiences changed the way I teach and the way I see education. They also convinced me that teachers deserve opportunities to learn from one another across borders—not from a conference room, but by actually working together. I created Chalkboard Nomads to give other educators that opportunity. Uganda is where we begin.
OUR PURPOSE
Teachers learning from teachers,
across borders.
Share ideas. Experience education differently. Bring something meaningful home.
Core Values
The principles behind every Chalkboard Nomads fellowship.
Learn First
We arrive ready to listen, observe, and learn from local educators.
Work Together
We collaborate with teachers, not for them. Good ideas move in both directions.
Be Useful
Our work should respond to what our partner school actually wants and needs.
Bring It Home
The experience shouldn't end when the flight does. Teachers return with new ideas, perspectives, and relationships that continue to shape their classrooms.
