Fayette County teacher chosen for Japan program

Michelle Spence applied to the 2019 Educators to Japan program at the urging of Miho Fujita, whose son Ryotaro is in Spence’s ESOL class. Courtesy FCBOE

Michelle Spence applied to the 2019 Educators to Japan program at the urging of Miho Fujita, whose son Ryotaro is in Spence’s ESOL class. Courtesy FCBOE

A Fayette County teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages has been chosen to participate in the 2019 Educators to Japan program.

Michelle Spence, who has been the ESOL teacher at Oak Grove and Peeples elementary schools for nearly two years, was selected by the Georgia Japanese Chamber of Commerce after a parent of one of her students encouraged her to apply. Next June she will spend two weeks in Japan with a host family as part of a cultural immersion program that will relate back to teaching English to Japanese students here.

Spence is the second consecutive Fayette County teacher chosen to represent Georgia for the program; last year J.C. Booth Middle School social studies teacher Georgia Frisch was selected.