Boston, Massachusetts, September 9, 2024—Teach Plus, a national nonprofit that empowers teachers to lead student-centered improvements in educational policy and instructional practice, has selected a diverse group of 22 outstanding educators from around Massachusetts for its 2024-25 Policy Fellowship cohort. Building on the work of previous cohorts, the new Fellows will develop policy, advocacy, research, and communications skills to advance issues of importance to students and communities in the Commonwealth. With less than half of all Massachusetts students in grades 3-8 reading at proficiency, this year’s cohort will focus primarily on addressing the state’s literacy crisis.
“Massachusetts has long prided itself on being number one in education. When it comes to our literacy outcomes, that is no longer the case. In fact, Massachusetts is among the top five states in the nation with the biggest disparities between kids from high-income and low-income backgrounds in 4th grade reading scores,” said Chris Marino, Teach Plus Massachusetts Executive Director. “We have a responsibility to ensure that all our students graduate with the literacy skills they need to lead productive and successful lives. Our Fellows will be working to bring about systemic change by improving the communication with parents and families about literacy, researching best-in-class instructional strategies our educators can use to teach literacy to their students, and together with our partners, advocating for smart literacy policies at the state level.”
“I am excited that Teach Plus enables me to work with teachers across Massachusetts who care and want to advocate for policy changes that help students gain access to all-inclusive teaching materials to increase their analytical reading and critical thinking skills. My goal is to help ensure my work results in comprehensive student literacy policies that benefit all students across all levels, giving their teachers the tools and support they need when they need it,” said Michael Khorshidianzadeh, 2024-25 Teach Plus Massachusetts Policy Fellow and a history teacher at Justice Resource Institute’s Victor School.
The new cohort includes recipients of the Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award, Shattuck Public Service Award, Donald W. Moreland Public Service Award, and Woburn Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) Award, in addition to numerous educators serving on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) committees and affinity groups within their districts. With 39% of the cohort identifying as teachers of color—compared to 12.8% of teachers statewide—Teach Plus Massachusetts Policy Fellows are reflective of the diversity of the state and its students. The Fellows hail from urban, rural, and suburban areas in all corners of the Commonwealth, from Boston to Springfield and Berkshire Hills to New Bedford. The teacher leaders come from a variety of settings, including district schools, charter schools, and early childhood centers, and teach a variety of subjects and age levels from early childhood to 12th grade.
“I am honored to work as an educator in the vibrant, culturally diverse city of Lawrence and am committed to working towards ensuring equitable literacy instruction for all students in my community and beyond. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with excellent educators from across Massachusetts as we work to elevate student and teacher voices, sharpen our knowledge of education policy, and explore opportunities to support meaningful, equity-focused change that is impactful to education stakeholders statewide,” said Megan Harrington-Edward, 2024-25 Teach Plus Massachusetts Policy Fellow and a reading interventionist in Lawrence Public Schools.
The 2024-25 Massachusetts Policy Fellows are:
- Sean Agustynowicz, Springfield Conservatory of the Arts, Springfield Public Schools
- David Brown, Phoenix Charter Academy Springfield, Phoenix Charter Academy Network
- Alicia Carey, Oliver Hazard Perry School, Boston Public Schools
- Kelly Fitzpatrick, Joseph Lee K-8 School, Boston Public Schools
- Elle Fleek, Elm Park Community School, Worcester Public Schools
- Jillian Geraghty, John F. Kennedy Elementary School, Boston Public Schools
- Megan Harrington-Edward, Arlington Middle School, Lawrence Public Schools
- Julie Hurtado, Garfield Elementary School, Revere Public Schools
- Susan Hutchins, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Berkshire Hills Regional School District
- Erika Jimenez, John Silber Early Learning Center, Chelsea Public Schools
- Danielle Jo White-Yelito, Greater Lowell Technical High School
- Michael Khorshidianzadeh, The Victor School, Justice Resource Institute
- Melissa Kintish, Community Charter School of Cambridge
- Nicholas Lee, Codman Academy Charter Public School
- Emily Marhan, Keith Middle School, New Bedford Public Schools
- Abigail McAndrew, McMahon Elementary School, Holyoke Public Schools
- Alexa Miller-Smith, Match Charter Public High School
- Bianca Prieto, Robinson Middle School, Lowell Public Schools
- Molly Serventi-Gleeson, Peirce Elementary School, Arlington Public Schools
- Donna Thayer, Mason-Rice Elementary School, Newton Public Schools
- Sophie Wang, Josiah Quincy Elementary School, Boston Public Schools
- Maria Zak, Gomes Elementary School, New Bedford Public Schools
The 2024-25 Massachusetts Senior Policy Fellows are:
- Jennifer Amento, Kenneth Coombs School, Mashpee Public Schools
- Emma Pascarella, Lt. Clayre P. Sullivan School, Holyoke Public Schools
- Desiree Patten, Harbor City School
- Ralph Saint-Louis, Lowell High School, Lowell Public Schools
- Luisa Sparrow, Oliver Hazard Perry School, Boston Public Schools
- Suzanne Stillinger, New Village Preschool
- Kimberly Tremlett, Brophy Elementary School, Framingham Public Schools
- Peter Weller, South Hadley High School, South Hadley Public Schools
- Aidn White, New Village Preschool
The Senior Policy Fellows are joined by Kevin Cormier, Director of Data, Accountability and Chronic Absenteeism in North Middlesex regional School District, who has served as a Policy Fellow and a Senior Policy Fellow and is now Senior Regional Advisor to Teach Plus Massachusetts.
If interested in interviewing Executive Director Christopher Marino or any of the Fellows, please contact Kelly Pearce at kpearce@teachplus.org or 928-925-9236.
About Teach Plus
Teach Plus is dedicated to the mission of empowering excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that advance equity, opportunity, and student success. In pursuing our mission, Teach Plus is guided by our Student Opportunity Mandate: All students should have the opportunity to achieve their potential in an education system defined by its commitment to equity, its responsiveness to individual needs, and its ability to prepare students for postsecondary 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 for students. https://teachplus.org/ma/
