SKANEATELES - For Jordan-Elbridge Middle School art teacher Betsy Sio, art has been a lifelong interest and passion.

From Western forms to the simple but eloquent masters of Eastern forms, the Skaneateles resident has a deep interest in it all.

As the school year winds down this June, Sio will have the opportunity to travel to Japan for three weeks to study Japanese life, the education system and the nation's art up close and personal.

In March, Sio was one of 320 educators from around the country chosen from a pool of more than 1,700 applicants to be awarded with the opportunity to go to Japan through the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program.

Funded by the Japanese government, the program was founded in 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fulbright Program founded by the U.S. government, which has allowed more than 6,000 Japanese students to study and pursue research in the United States.

Sio said she heard about the program through a local art and education group she belongs to.

“I felt like it was something that I would like to try,” Sio said. “I thought that it would be really interesting.”

Through the application process, Sio was required to write two essays, one about herself and another about that value she thought her experiences in Japan might have to her students and the rest of the J-E school community.

When she discovered she was chosen, Sio was overwhelmed.

“I was incredulous,” Sio said. “I didn't really have any idea that I might have a chance to get this opportunity. But now that I do it is really exciting to be able to go and do this and represent my school. I am very honored and humbled to be able to take part in this.”

Of the 160 teachers who will make the trip in June, Sio will be part of a group of 16 that will spend some time in Tokyo to become familiar with some of the basics of Japanese culture and language before traveling to the Iwate prefecture.

“That (a prefecture) is like a state,” Sio said. “and we'll be in two different cities there and we'll be doing a home stay as well. We'll get to see the schools and see what schools, life is like and what life outside of school is like. It should be nice, something different to get to see the big city life of Japan and also the more rural life, to get to see both sides of things.”

Sio said she is brushing up on some Japanese, trying to pick up at least a few phrases and that she and her fellow educators are communicating via email, trying to plan out what to do with their one free day.

For an art teacher like Sio, who has seen numerous museums in the country and also has traveled in Europe visiting many of the great museums and works of art of the world, the chance to see Eastern art in its home environment is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I'm excited about seeing another culture and another form of art,” Sio said. “I'm fascinated with Japanese styles, it can look so simple, but still be so eloquent with just a few brush strokes, it is really beautiful.”

Sio is also eager to see another art form, the Japanese gardens.

When she returns, Sio has plans for next school year that will include incorporating Japanese styles like ceramics and woodblock printing into her curriculum.

Sio said she also has spoken with other instructors on ways to incorporate her experiences into other areas like science and history.

But most of all she hopes that what she is able to see will help inspire her students.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity,” Sio said. “And I am so grateful for my school allowing me the time to go. I hope I can share some of this with my students. Some might not have the opportunity to travel like this and they will get to hear about what I saw and maybe for some it will inspire them and they will find a way to travel and to see places like Japan and I hope that all of them will learn a little bit about being a global citizen.”