Boston, MA, September 26, 2022 — Teach Plus, a national nonprofit that empowers teachers to lead improvements in educational policy and instructional practice, has selected a group of 19 demonstrably effective teachers from around Massachusetts for its 2022-2023 Policy Fellowship cohort. The Fellows will focus on a range of topics that directly impact the success of children from across the Commonwealth from high quality early childhood education to building a diverse teaching workforce to the policies and decisions that impact LGBTQ+ students and educators.
“Teachers in Massachusetts have been working closely with Teach Plus since 2008 and we are proud of the impact our work has had on students and education priorities across the state,” said Christopher Marino, Teach Plus Massachusetts Executive Director. “Teach Plus Policy Fellows have engaged decision makers and legislators on many issues including equitable use of school funding, social emotional learning, and anti-bias and anti-racist work in our schools. The new Fellows will continue to work alongside coalition partners, education leaders, and policymakers to ensure that teacher expertise is included in the most important decisions impacting our students.”
“As both a teacher and union representative, I am excited and honored to have been selected as a Fellow this year. I hope to broaden my knowledge on education policy in order to better serve the teachers and students of Chelsea High School, while also prioritizing community mobilization in the city of Chelsea,” said Massachusetts Policy Fellow Yamilis Cruz, a high school English and Reading ESL teacher at Chelsea Public Schools.
The 2021-22 Massachusetts Policy Fellows teach all grades from early childhood education through 12th grade. Teachers in the cohort work in a variety of settings including general public education, charter, preschool, and early learning centers from across the Commonwealth. With 42% of the cohort identifying as teachers of color, the new Fellows are reflective of the diversity of the state and its students.
Throughout the program, the Fellows are trained in policy, advocacy, research, and communications and develop the skills necessary to advocate for changes for Massachusetts’s students. Each Fellow was chosen based on their strong commitment to the classroom and to equity, their ability to articulate the needs of their students, and their pursuit of excellence and innovation in their teaching. The new Fellows will be supported by four Senior Policy Fellows, all of whom completed the Policy Fellowship in previous years.
“I am excited to be joining a group of educators so passionate about teacher leadership and so committed to social justice in their schools. I hope to work with others in the cohort to find ways to ensure that all students are welcomed and comfortable in school while dismantling the school to prison pipeline,” said Policy Fellow Bradley Burns who teaches social studies at Hanscom Middle School in Lincoln.
The 2022-23 Massachusetts Policy Fellows are:
- Carol Adu-Gyamfi, Brooke Charter School Roslindale, Edward Brooke Charter School District
- Jennifer Amento, Kenneth C. Coombs Elementary School, Mashpee Public Schools
- Farah Annylusse, Young Achievers Science And Math Pilot School, Boston Public Schools
- Judith Bettano, Higgins Middle School, Peabody Public Schools
- Laura Bowers, North Reading Middle School, North Reading Public School District
- Bradley Burns, Hanscom Middle School, Lincoln Public Schools
- Yamilis Cruz, Chelsea High School, Chelsea Public Schools
- Catherine Djerbaka, Nissitissit Middle School, North Middlesex School District
- Annmarie Fransen, Milford High School, Milford Township High School District 233
- Karen Guilmet, Arlington Middle School, Lawrence School District
- Kristen Kent, John Silber Early Learning Center, Chelsea Public Schools
- Sandra Laurent, Everbrook Academy of Washington Square
- Tanya Moorer, Joseph Lee K-8 School, Boston Public Schools
- Emma Pascarella, Lt. Clayre Sullivan School, Holyoke Public Schools
- Desiree Patten, Harbor City School
- Jenelyn Santos, Kelly Elementary School, Chelsea Public Schools
- Luisa Sparrow, Oliver Hazard Perry School, Boston Public Schools
- Diana Stoltenberg, Excel Academy Charter School
- Bailey Tighe, Walpole High School, Walpole Public Schools
The 2022-23 Massachusetts Senior Policy Fellows are:
- Kevin Cormier, Lead Senior Fellow, North Middlesex Regional School District
- Ralph Saint-Louis, Lowell High School, Lowell Public Schools
- Suzanne Stillinger, Farm Hands Preschool
- Aidn White, Frog Pond Early Learning Center
About Teach Plus
The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning, to create an education system driven by access and excellence for all. teachplus.org
###
Contact: Anya Grottel-Brown, agrottelbrown@teachplus.org, 917-902-5902
