About Us

What’s our deal? Mohamed and Shana are a unique couple. They are passionate about education, human rights, artistic expression and ways communities can grow and support each other. They are fortunate that they teach at two amazing schools located only a few blocks from each other. This closeness of proximity creates the perfect environment to foster a cross cultural sharing such as this Marrakech Fellowship project. We are excited to create curricula for our students and communities to utilize that will help to broaden awareness of a very different culture, that of Marrakech, Morocco and the artists we will study and collaborate with. We hope this work positively affects all involved for years to come and can help forge life-long correspondence between our Chicago and Marrakech participants. Here are our more official Bios floating around the online world. Mohamed Danja is originally from Marrakesh, Morocco and moved to the United States in 2005. He is married to an artist and teacher and has a wonderful son who is five. He has friends and family all over the world. Mr. Danja student taught at Lane Tech in 2011-2012. He taught Geometry and H. Arabic 1 in 2012-2013. He taught Algebra 2 with Trigonometry in 2013-2014 and this year he is delighted to teach R. French 2 and H. Arabic 1 and 3. Along with having a Masters of Arts in Math Education degree from DePaul University in Chicago, Mr. Danja also holds a Bachelors in International Relations from Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakesh and graduate studies in Political Science from Hassan II University in Casablanca. His experience with languages is extensive and his higher level education was carried out in Modern Standard Arabic and French. He has a deep curiosity for the humanities and this has led him to focus much of his masters research on Sociology and Anthropology. He has worked as an Arabic and French teacher for fifteen years as a tutor. He is delighted to be teaching languages to his students at Lane Tech and looks forward to sharing his unique, global perspectives on culture, sociology, literature and current events with his students. Check out Mohamed’s teaching website! ______________________________________________________ Shana Pearlmutter has been the art teacher at Alexander Graham Bell Elementary School since 2001. She is a Chicago based painter and community muralist. Her murals can be found at Loyola University, Seward Park, Sarah’s Circle and Bell School. In addition to her studio work, Shana has collaborated with many organizations: The Chicago Park District, Facing History and Ourselves, Gallery 37 and After School Matters. She has participated in Sarah Krepp’s rigorous arts seminar,  Dialogue Chicago and facilitated student murals, ceramic sculpture, site-specific art classes, quilt making, and theater artwork with youth and adults. Shana received her BFA in Printmaking and Painting in 1994 from the University of Kansas where she graduated with honors. She also received her MAAE in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2001. She was awarded a CAAP grant from the city of Chicago and became a Nationally Board Certified, Master art teacher in 2008. Winning several Chicago Foundation for Education, Oppenheimer, Teacher Incentive and Ingenuity grants have helped her to expand visual and performing arts opportunities for her students. Recently, she and a colleague received the distinguished, Margot Stern Strom Teaching Award from Facing History and Ourselves, which helped finance a multifaceted, social justice oriented mural and multi-grade, T-Shirt printing project featuring student artworks of local, national, international and fictitious social Upstanders. Check out Shana’s Art!

In Deep Gratitude-Shoukran Bzeff Sarah! When we finally took the dive into the multi-layered rabbit hole of internet research while writing the FFT Fellowship, finding solid Marraksi artisan information and people we could contact became more and more important. Over a series of 3-4 months, Artist and Community Connector Sarah Quinn Ezzarghani helped us tremendously. Thank you Sarah and we hope our paths cross in the real world with you and Mustapha one day soon!

Collaborators: This Fellowship will not be able to take place without the many people we look forward to collaborating with this summer and once we return to Chicago. Teachers from our two schools have offered to dedicate time and energy with us to bring this research to their students and we want to acknowledge them!

Ms. Lambert, Elementary School Music Teacher and Stellar Pianist and Musical Arranger.

Mr. Anderson, 6th grade Math and Science Teacher ,  Percussion Extraordinaire and Bell Staff Band “Teachers Pet” Member Mr. Shoenbeck: 6th grade Social Studies Teacher and Blow Your Mind Bass Player, Bell Staff Band “Teachers Pet “Member and Co-Director of Bell’s Rockin’ Guitar Club

Mr. Schmeissing: 6th grade Social Studies Teacher and Blow Your Mind Guitar Player, Bell Staff Band “Teachers Pet” Member and Co-Director of Bell’s Rockin’ Guitar Club.