Sharing Expertise

Mr. Northrup Visits the Land of Fire and Ice — and Empowered Women

History Department Chair and Director of The Innovation Lab Alex Northrup presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Geographic Education (NCGE) in October. He spoke on the “Site and Situation of Iceland” with a panel of educators who teach Icelandic Geography.

His knowledge of the topic came from being one of 16 U.S. educators to receive a grant from the Virginia Geographic Alliance and the Virginia Tech Department of Geography to participate in GeoCamp Iceland, a professional development opportunity for educators focused on creating teaching materials for their classrooms, sponsored by the National Council on Geographic Education.

“Iceland is a country characterized by the geographic extremes of fire and ice — frequent volcanic eruptions, sometimes underneath immense glaciers,” shared Northrup. “But as I learned this summer, Iceland is also home to the highest level of gender equality and female empowerment in the world.”

In addition to visiting the famous Blue Lagoon, Northrup’s group explored the site where the Eurasia and North America tectonic plates meet in the Reykjanes Peninsula, the 2021 Geldingaladir eruption lava field, and the lake created by the retreating glacier at Vatnajökull National Park. They also met Icelandic First Lady Eliza Reed, author of the book “Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World.” Iceland has been ranked number one in gender equality for the past 12 years.

Mr. Northrup was not the only faculty member to present at conferences during the fall semester.

English Department Chair Steve McCarty and English teacher Sidney Tilghman presented a session focused on the implementation of standardsbased learning and equity grading in Foxcroft’s English Department at a conference hosted by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS).

Fine Arts Department Chair Julie Fisher and STEM teacher and Wellness Education Coordinator Dr. Meghen Tuttle led a workshop at the Virginia Art Education Association (VAEA) Conference, providing insight into their interdisciplinary lessons bridging the arts and sciences.