Class 5-04 at P.S 62. Inocensio Casanova School in the South Bronx included students with wildly differing skill levels: there were 4th graders who struggled to read basic sight words like “the” or “went”— due to learning disabilities; there were also students who read above a 5th grade reading level. I was their general education teacher, and our classroom was an inclusion classroom, where students with special needs are educated in the same classroom as non-disabled students. The truth was, many of my students were struggling, whether due to an actual disability or years of gaps in their learning of reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. My job was to provide my students with the support they needed to succeed no matter where they were academically, socially, or mentally.
The parents and families of my special education students worked hard to make sure their kids completed their homework and did well on assignments. Those families attended scheduled and unscheduled parent/teacher conferences, and encouraged their kids to apply the skills that they were learning in school to the real world. My colleagues and I also did our part: we attended workshops, classes, and actual role plays of conversations on how to best support students with special needs—and their families.
Claire D'Silva is an intern at Teach For America.
Five links that made us think this week.
Approximately 40% of our public school buildings are in “bad to poor condition.” Is there anything that communities can do to improve the infrastructure? Here are two success stories where communities took matters into their own hands. (Pass the Chalk’s Janiceia Adams covered this topic back in June.)
“Call Me Maybe” is unstoppable! First the Harvard baseball team sang along, then the US Olympic Swim Team joined in, and now... high school teachers are taking part in the fun.
Domonique McClendonis the director of national and diversity marketing at Teach For America.
While an education is essential in life, having dreams and a champion for those dreams is no less so. And that champion, for many kids, is their teacher. Our teachers, or shall we call them what they really are—heroes—have the chance to play such an important role in the lives of young people. They can help young people see their uniqueness as individuals, recognize their potential, and embrace their dreams.
Earlier this week, I attended Teachers Rock—a concert to celebrate and benefit our country’s educators—alongside TFA Los Angeles corps members, staff members, and thousands of fans. Musicians like Carrie Underwood and Josh Groban performed, and celebrities including Viola Davis and Meryl Streep spoke. Teach For America, along with Donorschoose.org and Feeding America, was acknowledged for the work we do to improve the lives of people in this country. It felt great to have our organization’s work recognized alongside so many other compassionate and committed leaders and groups.
This week, federal accountability results were released from schools all across Texas, and more schools and school districts failed to meet the standards for adequately yearly progress than met the standards. One common explanation is the implementation of a new state assessment system—the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness—which is more rigorous than the previous Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. While this is likely one part of the story, I think another important factor is what we do and do not expect of our students, and how we account for their passions.
Photo credit: Stanislav Freidin
On the cusp of another school year, I’ve been spending a lot of time with our 80 starting corps members. Before diving into the incredibly challenging, high-stakes work of teaching, they watched a TEDx talk by human-development expert Peter Benson about how young people thrive. Benson talks about the value of “spark,” an animating energy that gives life hope and purpose. I was challenged to remember my spark when I was in elementary, middle, and high school. I recall that I wanted to be an ichthyologist, to share the sea with sharks. At some point—maybe coinciding with high school biology and an AP course that seemed to take all of the fun out of the miracles of life—I lost that spark.
Alexander Sidorkin is the Dean of the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development at Rhode Island College. He recently blogged about his experience attending one of TFA's summer institutes. We have reblogged his post in full with permission.
A couple of weeks ago, a colleague and I went to NYC to attend Teach for America’s summer institute. We are starting a collaborative program with them and this was an attempt to learn about the experiences the corps members have before they will come to our classes.
The relationship between TFA and the teacher education community is anything but easy. We sometimes end up on the opposite sides of educational debates. At the same time, in many states, colleges collaborate with TFA and help their members to obtain state certification.
TFA corps members attend a five-week summer training institute in one of nine locations around the country.
I’ve soaked in every sweat-filled, pride inducing moment of the Olympics. I’ve laughed at Samuel L. Jackson’s tweets, groaned at every sexist moment of coverage celebrating female athletes for their bodies versus their talent (THEY’RE AT THE FREAKIN OLYMPICS!), celebrated every underdog’s victory, pounded my fists at the smog of racism that permeates so much of the American coverage, and misted up each time an athlete hugs his or her parents.
And finally, in the rare chance to watch an actual live-telecast event here in the US, I closed out the Games with the gold medal men’s basketball game between the US and Spain. I write this deep in the 3rd quarter, where the US team is up by 3, and I can't tell you, at this moment, who is going to win the game.
The Olympic Rings on Tower Bridge in London. Photo by Gonzolito (via WikiCommons).
Here’s what drives me crazy with this men’s team—and where I see so many parallels to education in our country. They play in fits and starts. There are moments when they come together as a great team—but all too often the team misses an opportunity to go on a run. These are great individual performances. Durant, Bryant, James—they are playing great basketball—but they tend to do so in turns.
Over the last 25 years, we’re playing a similar fits and starts game in education.
Two weeks ago I had the honor of recognizing the 10 recipients of Teach For America’s first annual Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching. More than 120 students, teachers, staff members, family, and guests gathered at the Hotel Intercontinental in New York to celebrate these exceptional educators and their contributions to our work. It was a moving ceremony, with tributes from students and even a video message from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recognizing the accomplishments of our awardees.
Award winners (L-R) Lavinia Rogers, Isaac Pollack, Jenny Tan, Belzie Mont-Louis, Laura Kretschmar, Sanee Ibrahim, Candice Frontiera, Eric Diamon, Taylor Delhagen, Ed Chambers
Over 7,000 Teach For America alumni are teaching in classrooms across the country today. They are indispensable to fulfilling our mission—and our country’s aspiration—of a future where all children can have an excellent education.
Chosen from more than 600 nominees, the 10 award winners reflect a wide range of experiences and teach in diverse settings. What they have in common is outstanding leadership. They are willing to take risks in pursuit of life-changing impact. They are not content to see academic gains alone—they are determined that every student will walk out of their classrooms with the tools to be life long learners, passionate readers, and skilled problem solvers on a path to and through college. None of these teachers is satisfied with where they are now—they ask more of themselves even when they’re getting great results. Their drive to push boundaries has driven our movement forward.
I met Megan Scelfo while I was an undergrad at LSU. She was from Franklin, Louisiana—a small community near the coast in St. Mary Parish. She was also a year younger than me, a dancer, and very passionate about her beliefs. Megan was the first person I ever met who had been taught by Teach For America teachers.
One of Megan’s high school teachers was Brent Maddin, a TFA corps member and science teacher who held study sessions at the Franklin McDonald’s and who pushed students like Megan to excel and take on leadership roles. For Megan, this meant following her interest in the arts and in community service. By the time I met Megan, she was a student in the LSU Honors College, and so was I.
Megan Scelfo (front row, in purple) and Trey Smith (center back, in black) at a meeting of the Rotaract Club of Philadelphia. Photo courtsey of Michael Tipton.
I grew up in Baton Rouge and had never heard of Teach For America until I got to college. Now, I was considering applying for TFA myself. Meanwhile, Megan, her friend Trey Smith, and another friend of theirs worked to start a program called FOCUS (Focusing on College and Ultimate Success)through the Honors College. FOCUS hoped to extend some of the arts and service opportunities that Megan had experienced through Brent to students in other low income communities in Louisiana. Megan and Trey successfully started the program, and FOCUS continues to do great work to this day.
Claire D'Silva is an intern at Teach For America.
Five links that made us think this week.
The conversation about teacher evaluations continues: Vicki Phillips of the Gates Foundation says that multiple-measure evaluations can help teachers improve their practices; Anthony Cody responds and says it’s time to stop obsessing over test scores and start creating conditions that will allow teachers to grow.
Take three stellar actresses (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Holly Hunter) and add a dose of real events: what results is a new film about two mothers trying to transform a failing inner city high elementary school. Check out the trailer for Won’t Back Down.
Last week TNTP (formerly The New Teacher Project) released its new report, "The Irreplaceables," which examines the failure of our education system to retain teachers who have the greatest impact on raising student achievement. As the Huffington Post notes, the report is bound to make waves and drive policy initiatives over the coming year. It was publicized with a ringing endorsement by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and in many ways is a sequel to TNTP’s other seminal report, "The Widget Effect," which is credited with influencing the Department of Education’s Race to the Top competition.
"The Irreplaceables" is pragmatic in its analysis and presentation of solutions. In the four urban districts the researchers surveyed, they found that the 20% of teachers who are most successful in raising student achievement (dubbed the “irreplaceables”) are leaving the profession at almost identical levels to the lowest performing teachers. But TNTP also learned that three out of four of these top teachers would remain in their schools if their top concerns—ranging from school culture to public recognition—were addressed.
There’s already a great deal of discussion about the report’s policy implications: the same arguments that have been raised for and against teacher tenure, merit pay, and evaluation models will be debated again. But let’s go beyond pragmatism and talk blue sky. Something is rotten in our country’s perception of teachers, and it has to change before we'll see a true revolution in the results—both the quality of the overall teaching population and student outcomes.
We believe education is the most pressing issue facing our nation. On Pass the Chalk, we'll share our takes on the issues of the day, join the online conversation about education, and tell stories from classrooms, schools, and communities around the nation.
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