Houston, TX— Teach Plus, a national nonprofit that empowers teachers to lead improvements in educational policy and instructional practice, has selected a group of 25 demonstrably effective teachers from around Texas for its 2022-2023 Harmony Teacher Advisory Cabinet cohort. The 6th annual cabinet will focus on a range of issues of importance to Harmony Public School teachers, students, and parents. Topics are determined in collaboration with the cabinet members and Harmony leaders. In previous years, the teachers have addressed teacher leadership and development, social-emotional learning, lesson planning and preparation, and teacher and student learning habits clarity.
“Through Teach Plus’ work with the Harmony Public Schools, we have elevated teacher leadership so that it has become a must-have. Harmony’s stakeholders acknowledge the value that teachers and teacher leadership bring and are listening when teacher leaders present recommendations to improve system-wide policies. We hope to offer the same opportunities to district leaders and teachers throughout the state so that teacher leadership becomes a go-to for all decision makers in Texas,” said Rahshundra Scott-Covington, Teach Plus Texas Instructional Practice Director.
Harmony Public Schools is a system of Texas public charter schools that provides education focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Teach Plus is entering into its 6th year of partnering with Harmony, working alongside its executive leadership team to develop systems that elevate teacher voice and supporting principals to know what it means to have distributed leadership. This year, this support includes partnering with the director of leadership development and the director of instruction to implement teacher leadership across 61 schools serving over 41,000 students.
Founded in the 2017-2018 school year, the Harmony Teacher Advisory Cabinet works to ensure the effectiveness of Teach Plus-led, system-wide teacher leadership work. The teacher leaders in the cabinet focus on incorporating teacher voice into planning across the Harmony schools across Texas. In its first year, the cabinet advised on the changes to Harmony policy that improved the effectiveness of teacher leadership across the Harmony network. Since then, the cabinet has grown to include other topics of importance to the Harmony community.
“Being a Harmony Teacher Advisory Senior Cabinet member is one of the most important roles that I look forward to serving within Harmony Public Schools. The cabinet has been instrumental in providing an organized platform that allows the time and opportunity to unpack concerns that greatly affect HPS as a whole. With the help of Teach Plus, I look forward to gaining the skills that will allow me to troubleshoot, execute, and follow up with matters that are important to our HPS family,” said Chanel Ashley-Jones, Senior Cabinet Member.
Over the years, the cabinet recommendations have led to many positive changes at Harmony. These include:
- Additional training and support for campus and district leaders on distributed leadership
- Compensation for teacher leaders who hold multiple leadership roles
- Streamlining the lesson planning and preparation process
- Professional development agendas adjusted to include time for teacher preparation and practice
- Improved implementation plans for social and emotional learning
- Additional training and resources to support instructional improvement plans
The new cabinet members represent all of the regions of HPS. Their teaching experience ranges from three years to 25 years and they teach grades kindergarten through 12th grade. The cabinet members have demonstrated their effectiveness through the rigorous application process and through HPS recognitions such as Micro-credentials and other important leadership roles within their districts.
Throughout the program, the cabinet members are trained in policy, advocacy, research, and communications and develop the skills necessary to advocate for changes for Harmony Public School’s students. They gather relevant feedback and analyze data from across Harmony Public Schools. Each cabinet member 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 2022-23 Harmony Teacher Advisory Cabinet Members are:
- Arinola Adedeji, Harmony School of Ingenuity – Houston
- Aurora Aguilar, Harmony School of Excellence – El Paso
- Chanel Ashley-Jones, Harmony School of Innovation-San Antonio, Senior Cabinet Member
- Luis Banuelos, Harmony School of Excellence – Laredo
- Leslie Cheromiah, Harmony School of Discovery – Houston
- Sara Donaldson, Harmony Science Academy – Odessa, Senior Cabinet Member
- J. Efrain Garcia, Harmony Science Academy – Austin, Senior Cabinet Member
- Marissa Godwin, Harmony Science Academy – Cedar Park
- Ronilda Henson, Harmony School of Innovation – Garland, Senior Cabinet Member
- Misty Kacal, Harmony Science Academy – Sugar Land
- LaShaunika Ladrimault, Harmony School of Innovation – Sugar Land
- Cathy Langlais-Slater, Harmony School of Innovation – Katy
- Michele Logan, Harmony Science Academy – Garland
- Lara Martinez, Harmony Science Academy – Lubbock
- Lauren Parrent, Harmony School of Discovery – Houston
- Madelayne Ramirez, Harmony School of Innovation – Fort Worth
- Maria Martinez, Harmony School of Excellence – Laredo
- Alisa Rolf, Harmony School of Science – Austin
- Tiffany Roots, Harmony School of Innovation – Fort Worth
- Cameron Rzucidlo, Harmony Science Academy – Dallas (Middle)
- Erin Teague, Harmony Science Academy – Sugar Land
- Samantha Tees, Harmony Science Academy – Bryan, Senior Cabinet Member
- Alexandra Vasquez, Harmony School of Ingenuity – Houston
- Toni Wolford, Harmony Science Academy – Odessa
- Jaclynn Worthy, Harmony School of Excellence – Houston
“The cabinet is a wonderful opportunity for the HPS community because it gives a space for collaboration at varying levels. Participation in the cabinet at any level provides an insight into how changes are proposed and how to better advocate for these changes within the HPS community,” said J. Efrain Garcia, Senior Cabinet Member.
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
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Contact: Anya Grottel-Brown, agrottelbrown@teachplus.org, 917-902-5902
