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How Coaches Support Teachers: Network Connections

José González is one of many teacher coaches at Teach For America who help support corps members throughout their two-year commitment. 

By The TFA Editorial Team

October 2, 2019

This series highlights the deep connections between students, corps members, teacher coaches, school staff, and other alumni across the Teach For America network. In this episode, we meet José González, a 2014 Teach For America Los Angeles alum who serves as a TFA teacher impact coach, working closely with corps members during their two-year commitment to help them develop their teaching skills.

The Teaching Coach

José González (Los Angeles ‘14) is a teacher impact coach at Teach for America and supports 20 corps members teaching in Indianapolis. He and spends his days mentoring new corps members and helping them become effective teachers and leaders while also balancing the demands of teaching.

How Principals Support Teachers and Students

Meet Cody Whitesell, a 2008 Indianapolis corps member, and school leader at Enlace Academy, whose time in the corps gave him the tools necessary to provide opportunities for the students he serves. 

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What It's Like to Teach in the Corps

Meet Krystal Coronado, a 2018 Indianapolis corps member, and science teacher at Enlace Academy, who works to empower kids daily with the support from her TFA network.

Watch the Video

 

Supporting Schools at the District Level

Meet Jamie VanDeWalle, a school administrator who oversees a group of schools that are finding innovative ways to drive strong student achievement.

Watch the Video

What It’s Like to Be a Student of a Corps Member

Meet Geraldine, a seventh-grader at Enlace Academy who is passionate about science and dreams of one day becoming a computer programmer.

Watch the Video

Join the Corps

Redefine opportunities for students—and yourself—by applying to teach as part of the Teach For America corps.

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'Our Corps Members Are So Important': Transcript

My day is very much driven by the needs of my corps members.

My name is José Gonzalez and I am a 2014 Teach For America Los Angeles alum, and I am currently a Teacher Impact Coach in the Indianapolis region.

I support first-year corps members through developing their practice to become the best teachers that they can be and the best leaders in their classrooms. 

I work with 20 corps members in schools across the city and Krystal specifically, she has just been a ball of energy, all year. She came in burning very bright and she is a corps member that I think truly does give it her all and grounds everything that she does in trying to make sure that she is providing the best science education that she can, and the one that she knows her students deserve. 

It’s important to me to make sure that my support encompasses things like ensuring that my corps members’ mental health is taken care of, that they’re taking care of themselves as human beings, that I’m able to support in whatever what I can to facilitate that, because the work is incredibly hard, and we want them in this work, for, ideally the rest of their lives.

This work is so important and our corps members are so important in ensuring that we are increasing access for their students. 

It’s a lot on one plate and I want to ensure that corps members feel that they have what they need to be able to best balance the demands of the classroom and being human and having a family, and being a person.

I want my corps members to grow professionally, to grow personally, to be able to provide for students. They always keep their “why” and their students at the forefront of their minds and remain grounded in that.