Growing Beyond the Classroom: Erin Rothwell's Grow Grant Journey to Singapore
Each year, a Maryvale faculty or staff member is awarded a grant to use toward professional enrichment that directly benefits the educational experience of Maryvale students. The Grow Grant was established by Jennifer Hanley Armstrong ’00 and Gregory Armstrong, who believe educational enrichment and travel experiences rejuvenate and motivate educators.
Erin Rothwell, Co-Director of Learning Support at Maryvale, was the 2026 Grow Grant recipient and traveled to Singapore to study their nationally recognized approach to support students with dyslexia and learning differences. In addition to learning in a place internationally known for having some of the strongest and most consistent dyslexia interventions in the world, Rothwell respects how religiously diverse Singapore is. She said, “Studying how difference is supported both academically and culturally will help me strengthen learning support practices. Singapore’s strength lies not only in its dyslexia interventions but in its multicultural social fabric.”
Rothwell shared her overall experience in her own words below.
This past winter, I proposed using the Grow Grant to study Singapore’s approach to learning support and teacher development. My plan included attending UNITE 2026: Uniting Ideas in Teaching Excellence – Supporting Those Who Learn Differently, learning from the Dyslexia Association of Singapore, and visiting schools to speak with teachers and learning specialists. I also wanted to explore how Singapore’s diverse culture approaches inclusion and bring those ideas and perspectives back to the Maryvale community. I expected to come home with copious notes, which I did. However, one of the most meaningful parts of the experience was not something I could neatly organize into a folder.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson writes in “Ulysses,” “I am a part of all that I have met.” Every place Ulysses visits, every friendship he forms, every culture he encounters, and every adventure he experiences becomes part of who he is. He cannot separate himself from these experiences because they shape his character. That is what Singapore did for me. The true value of the trip was that I came home as a slightly different version of myself, with a perspective expanded by every classroom I visited, every teacher and tutor I spoke with, the conference I attended, and every conversation I shared.
I was struck by the purposefulness I saw in so many parts of daily life. People seemed conscious of how their choices affected the larger community. I noticed the quiet of public transportation, the respect shown to older adults, and perhaps the most poignant, the peaceful coexistence of many cultures, languages, and faiths. These observations caused me to examine my own assumptions as well as my understanding of what it means to live well alongside others. I traveled expecting to study a different educational system and found myself studying my own life.
As educators, we often hope that students leave our classrooms changed by what they have learned. The Grow Grant recognizes that teachers should be changed by learning too. The best educators are not finished products. They continue to grow through the people they meet, the questions they ask, and the experiences that challenge them. This trip made me think more deeply about the kind of educator and colleague I want to be. That growth matters because it shapes what I now bring back to Maryvale.
By studying other education systems, we can notice new ideas, question our assumptions, and adapt what works for our own classrooms. I look forward to sharing what I learned with the Maryvale faculty during a professional development presentation this fall, and I hope to share these ideas in a way that is meaningful to everyone. Thank you to the Armstrong family for making this experience possible through their generous support of the Grow Grant.
