Norfolk, Va.—Norfolk State University will host the 40th reunion celebration for the New Canaan Experiment participants November 20-22 in various locations on the campus. In the fall of 1969, ten students from Norfolk State College began their student teaching in New Canaan, Connecticut. The town of New Canaan welcomed the students, all seniors, planning special social activities and providing housing with local families. The project was designed to examine the impact of “directed teaching experiences” on the prospective teachers in a cultural and social setting outside of their own community.

The 1969 New Canaan Experiment project cost just $3,040, which included the students’ airfare, $10 a week for each student for personal expenses, a $60 stipend to each of the cooperating local teachers and a $540 reimbursement for college supervisors to observe and evaluate the program. The investment produced a crop of teachers who spent a lifetime teaching and mentoring students all over the country.

As participants in the New Canaan Experiment project, scores of Norfolk State students were given a rare opportunity to become trailblazers in the field of education between 1969 and 1977. One of the highlights of the reunion celebration is a symposium, organized by NSU’s School of Education that will address the topic Culture, Race, Class and Student Teaching: A Reflective Dialogue with New Canaan Experiment Participants. The New Canaan Experiment participants will also take campus tours, attend a reunion dinner and dance and attend the NSU vs. Winston Salem State football game on November 21 as guests of NSU President Carolyn W. Meyers.

For more information, call the NSU Office of Communications and Marketing at 757-823-8373.