The Education Outreach Program launches new Teaching Africa Teacher Certificate for Elementary Teachers

The Boston University African Studies Center’s Education Outreach Program is pleased to share that, thanks to the generous support of the Longview Foundation, we are now inviting applications from elementary school teachers nationwide to join the 2026 Teaching Africa Teacher Certificate program.

This online professional development opportunity includes a summer course, a fall course, and a curriculum-building component. Participating teachers will earn professional development points, receive a certificate from the African Studies Center, and be awarded an $800 stipend.

Program director Dr. Wiehe explains “We were very pleased to secure a grant from the Longview Foundation as the foundation’s funding priorities align directly with the mission of the K-16 Education Outreach Program at the African Studies Center which is ‘Education about Africa for everyone.’” This program advances accurate and humanizing instruction about Africa in elementary schools, an educational space that is unfortunately vulnerable to reinforcing stereotypes about the continent. Teachers will engage with guest speakers from the continent, delve deeply into the outstanding corpus of picture books about Africa from the Children’s Africana Book Awards, design original curriculum, and have the opportunity to take their curriculum design back to their communities through leadership experiences.

We especially encourage teachers from Midwestern and Southern states, as well as those working in rural districts, to apply.

The deadline to apply has been extended to Thursday April 30th, 2026 at midnight.