Waterford — It's not every day you find out you're headed to Ecuador to excavate pre-Columbian Incan fortresses and road systems, or a NASA Conference at Kennedy Space Center, or to Denver, Colo., for in-depth instructor training on problem-solving and relationship-building.

But that's what happened Friday morning to Brian Ash, Diane Stober, Barbara Rafferty and Wendy McCabe, four Waterford teachers who received surprise grants and professional development opportunities through the Fund for Teachers.

The $875,000 from the Fund for Teachers program will support more than 150 public school teachers pursuing self-designed professional learning experiences this summer. More than 600 teachers have received fellowships since 2015, with the Dalio Foundation providing at least $3.6 million over the last few years. The Fund for Teachers program has awarded almost $32 million in grants to support 8,500 teachers since 2001.

"This is just another example of the innovation envelope our teachers continue to push," Waterford Superintendent Tom Giard said on Friday. "These four teachers continue to seek out creative and innovative ways to not only challenge our students, but challenge themselves as true professionals. These experiences will benefit our students greatly."

Barbara Dalio, co-founder and director of the Dalio Foundation, said in a news release that teachers are creative and care about their students. "They motivate and inspire them," she said. "When given the resources and space, magic happens."

Ash, a history teacher at Waterford High School, will join the Pambamarca program in Cangahua, Ecuador, "to practice archaeological field techniques ... and work with a museum to create an installation of artifacts, collecting primary sources, realia (everyday objects), photos and stories to enrich his classroom history lessons," according to the news release.

Stober and Rafferty, a math teacher and science teacher at the high school, respectively, will attend the Space Port Area Conference for Educators hosted by NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in July, according to Giard.

McCabe, a special education teacher at Great Neck Elementary School, will head to training in Colorado called "Nine Essential Skills for Love and Logic," according to Great Neck Principal Billie Shea.

"This training is geared to develop practical strategies for reaching the most difficult students through mutual respect, relationship-building and problem-solving," Shea said Friday. "In the letter Wendy received from the Fund for Teachers Foundation, it was stated that her proposal 'stood out for its bold vision and commitment to push the boundaries of (her) own learning.'"

In a statement, Gov. Ned Lamont commended the Dalio Foundation, which has invested more than $50 million in public school districts, nonprofits and communities over the last four years.

"Earlier this year, I asked philanthropic organizations to join us at the table and help us create the Connecticut we know we can be," Lamont said. "Teachers are a critical component to improving student success and establishing a strong foundation from which our kids can grow."

b.kail@theday.com