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“The award represents the impact that we made to promote U.S. interests and foreign policy goals,” says Mattison, a 2005 MA in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) graduate who is now a high school English teacher based in the Los Angeles area.

“It’s a very high honor,” says Professor Emerita Kathi Bailey, founding chair of the Institute’s TESOL program. Jeffrey came the Institute as a after serving in Jamaica and worked as Bailey’s graduate assistant.

“He was a great colleague and a consistent leader in our program,” said Bailey.

Putting the Full Set of TESOL Skills to the Test

Mattison was one of four teachers who contributed to the project to revise and enhance English-language textbooks being developed by Egypt’s Al-Azhar Model Institute school system.

“In Egypt and beyond, Al-Azhar Mosque has religious and political significance as the representation of moderate Sunni Islam,” says Mattison. “The team we worked with from the Al-Azhar Institute had designed a first draft of an English textbook for their K–12 system to ensure their values were represented, but the draft had gaps and insufficiencies that they asked us to help address.”

Mattison and the other team members worked virtually for much of the 11-month project, but also had the opportunity to travel to Egypt for in-person meetings.

“In the beginning, we didn’t think we could revise 11 grades of textbooks in 11 months,” says Mattison, “but the Egyptian team was very optimistic and very willing to work hard, and we got it done. Now a million Al-Azhar Institute students will have improved English skills through a more rigorous textbook.”

Mattison says his academic experience in Monterey was very helpful to his work on the project, mentioning his courses in curriculum design principles and practices of language teaching, linguistics, and leadership and organizational change. 

“It was a great review of what I had learned in my master’s coursework!”

A New Perspective on Career

His involvement in the project came about through a desire to continue to learn and grow as a professional.

“I’ve been a public school teacher for 20 years now, and for the last five years I’ve been looking for opportunities to grow and share my professional skills. I applied for the project with modest expectations, but it turned out I had a lot to contribute.”

Mattison is already appreciating the impact completing the project has had on his career outlook. 

“It’s helped me see my own career in a new way; I do have expertise that I can share, that other people may want in the future. I’ll definitely be throwing my hat in the ring again for other projects and opportunities.”

Asked what keeps him motivated in the classroom, Mattison smiles and responds with a burst of enthusiasm.

“It might sound cliché, but what excites me about being in the classroom is that you get the opportunity to touch the future and help to shape and mold it. I’m planting seeds that may not germinate for years. When students come back years later looking for me, and I get to see who they’ve become as an adult, that’s really special.”

Mattison is reminded every day of all that his Monterey experience brought into his life—he is married to fellow Institute graduate Gilda Estrada MPA ’05 (now Gilda Estrada Mattison). The couple met in a course on public budgeting and have two children in their teens and tweens.