From Staff Reports

Vincent Middle/High Principal Gary Minnick has been selected to participate in the Fulbright Teacher and Administrator Exchange Program.

The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board made the announcement.

Minnick will participate in the exchange program with Elizabeth Hermann of Argentina, according to Cindy Warner, public relations supervisor for Shelby County Schools.

According to Minnick, he and Hermann will spend three weeks in each other’s countries.

Warner reports Herman is slated to visit Shelby County Nov. 2-22, and Minnick is scheduled to travel to Mina Clavero, Argentina, next June.

While in Shelby County, Hermann will observe and visit Vincent Middle/High School, Vincent Elementary and Chelsea Middle Schools.

She will also spend two days at the Shelby County Board of Education office in Columbiana and will job-shadow elementary school coordinator Rickey Darby, middle school coordinator Betty Edwards and high school coordinator Larry Headrick.

&uot;She will spend a good deal of time with me, learning about what I do as a principal and she will also be observing in our classrooms,&uot; Minnick said.

&uot;We are also planning to have her do presentations to our students to help them learn about her country and their customs.&uot;

Minnick is also looking forward to his visit to Mina Clavero, a small town near Cordoba, Argentina.

&uot;I am very excited and honored to have been selected,&uot; Minnick said. &uot;It is a wonderful opportunity for me.&uot;

According to Warner, Minnick is one of about 250 U.S. grantees who will travel abroad during the 2003-04 academic year through the Fulbright Teacher and Administrator Program.

Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Sen. William J. Fulbright of Arkansas, the program was created to build a mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Minnick is in his second year as principal at Vincent Middle/High School and previously served as assistant principal at Calera Middle/High School