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The Voices of Teach Plus Arkansas
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
2021-22 Teach Plus Arkansas Policy Fellows
Meet the Policy Fellows
2021 will go down as a year to remember. The Tokyo Olympics finally happened, Nasa’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars, businesses, schools, and travel opened back up, and in August, Teach Plus Arkansas (a nonprofit organization that trains educators to lead improvements in educational policy and practice without leaving the classroom) launched its inaugural Teacher Policy Fellowship with a cohort of 20 exemplar educators (and three senior fellows) from around the state of Arkansas! These teacher leaders are working diligently to address issues in early childhood education, teacher preparation, social and emotional learning, and teacher recruitment and retention. To learn more about each teacher leader, click here to read their bio.
Professional Development
For over a decade, nationally, Teach Plus has helped thousands of teacher leaders across the country deepen their knowledge of education policy and develop their leadership skills to create and improve policies and practices that ensure equity, opportunity, and student success.
Since Teach Plus Arkansas’ official launch and kick-off in August of this year, our Policy Fellows have participated in training through expert-led modules on topics such as Teachers as Policy Influencers, Storytelling for Impact, Policy 101, Evidenced-Based Policy Making, Communication Tools & OpEd Writing, Advocacy & Organizing, and Race & Equity. Additionally, the Fellows learned more about Arkansas’ educational landscape through guest speakers such as:
Susanna Post, 2021 Arkansas Teacher of the Year
Representative Tippi McCullough, Minority Leader District 33
Representative Vivian Flowers, State Representative District 17
Dr. Ivy Pfeffer, Deputy Commissioner - Division of Elementary and Secondary Education
Brian Schwieger, Chief of Interpretation at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
Tina Fletcher, Owner of Fletcher Education Solutions
Olivia Gardner, Director of Education Policy - Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families
Maricella Garcia, Race Equity Director for Advocacy - Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families
Audrey Freshwater, Arkansas Deputy Director - Save the Children
Policy Fellow Spotlights
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Teacher Leaders from Bentonville, Forrest City, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Pulaski County, and Springdale Public School Districts met with staff in the Offices of Educator Effectiveness & Licensure at the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education/Arkansas Department of Education and testified before the Senate & House Joint Committee on Education Legislative Meeting about Teach Plus, mentorship, teacher retention, and leading from the classroom. |
Texarkana Teacher Leader Juanita Harris received the Arkansas Education Association's Human and Civil Rights Award for her advocacy work on behalf of Arkansas students and educators.
Bentonville teacher leader Brandie Loomis developed and led a professional development session on teachers' voice, advocacy, and Teach Plus at Amazeum.
Pulaski County Special School District teacher leader Michael Flowers led a breakout session called “Shared Responsibility in Diversifying the Teacher Pipeline” at a recent NEA conference.
Little Rock School District’s Leron McAdoo represented Teach Plus on the inaugural panel for the Learn From History coalition. The coalition is made up of dozens of organizations that believe schools need to provide a thorough, accurate, and fact-based history education to every student.
As a Student Success Coordinator, Teach Plus Arkansas Senior Policy Fellow Christhian Saavedra is helping students at his high school to reacclimate to being back in the classroom, with a focus on SEL and academic success. He spoke with his local news about how he hopes to impact students. (KNWA FOX 24)
In Case You Missed It:
Teach Plus AR in the News
Arkansas Teach Plus aims to recruit, retain more teachers of color
"Teach Plus" Arkansas Fellowship Aims to Increase Educator Diversity
Commemorating the Desegregation of Little Rock Central High School
I am an educator and I want our legislators to life the mask ban
Critical race theory bans: How teachers should approach US history
New report: How to build culturally affirming schools, according to over 100 Black teachers
Teacher diversity: Experts tell State Board of Ed that NC can and should do better
Recent Teach Plus Briefs
In order to deepen our understanding of the perspectives of teachers of color in our state and how best to diversify the teacher workforce, the Teach Plus Arkansas Advisory Board conducted focus groups with educators of color in our state in December 2020. The findings and perspectives are presented in Greater Than Diamonds: Recommendations on Improving Teacher Diversity in Arkansas. In this brief, we present findings from our research and recommendations for district policymakers and campus leaders on the experiences of teachers of color on campus and for hiring and retention practices.
"If You Listen, We Will Stay: Why Teachers of Color Leave and How to Disrupt Teacher Turnover," examines the challenges teachers of color face as they navigate the profession and zeroes in on the solutions adopted by schools working to retain faculty of color.
A new report from Teach Plus and the Center for Black Educator Development, To Be Who We Are: Black Teachers on Creating Affirming School Cultures, looks at the experiences of Black educators in schools and lays out recommendations for decision-makers to affirm, support, and retain Black faculty.
Educators are clear: The opportunity to reimagine education is long overdue. Instead of treating the COVID-19 pandemic as a catastrophic setback, they want to use its lessons to create a better, more equitable education system for students. A new report from Teach Plus, The Phoenix Project: Building an Equitable Educational System Beyond the Pandemic, is the teachers’ blueprint for change and zeroes in on what it would take to enact their vision for the profession.
For more information about the Arkansas Teacher Network or to join, please visit our website at teachplus.org/AR or click below:
Looking Ahead
As we head into the holiday season, know that we are thankful for your support and look forward to the journey ahead. To learn more about the Policy Fellowship, ask questions about Teach Plus Arkansas or share ideas on how we might collaborate and work together to empower teacher leaders to create an equitable education system for students, please reach out to Teach Plus Arkansas State Director Stacey McAdoo at smcadoo@teachplus.org or via phone at 617-947-8233.
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