Op Eds
Texas teachers need courageous legislators to do the right thing
Texas
•Oct. 26, 2023Texas Early Childhood Educator Affinity Group Network
Cultivating authentic, inclusive, intersectional spaces, shaped by and for educators of color.
Early Childhood Educators from across Texas:
You are invited to apply for the Teach Plus Texas Early Childhood Educator Affinity Group Network, a highly selective leadership opportunity for outstanding Texas teachers looking to influence ECE in the state of Texas by facilitating affinity spaces that help to attract, recruit, and retain a effective and diverse teaching workforce to ECE in the state of Texas.
How Does It Work?
Teach Plus recruits and selects ECE Affinity Group Facilitators from across the Lone Star State who will develop, launch, and facilitate affinity groups in their contexts. You will become part of a larger movement of teacher leadership and help mobilize your peers around top issues impacting equity for students and the teaching profession in Texas.
What will you do as an Affinity Group Facilitator?
- You receive training and support from Teach Plus in: affinity group facilitation, education policy as a lever for student success, community organizing, and more.
- Affinity Group Facilitators create affirming and supportive affinity group spaces, rooted in an asset-based understanding of diversity, which support educators in navigating and improving their school environments and are connected to a larger network to build alliances and address systemic issues.
- Facilitators support their peers by forming an affinity group in their context
- Facilitators will receive support in the form of a monthly leadership training and leadership coaching session
- Facilitators fulfill additional leadership responsibilities, including affinity group participant recruitment, agenda creation and monthly meeting facilitation
- Facilitators receive a $2,500 stipend for their commitment from January 2025 – June 2026
- Facilitators receive $250 implementation funds to facilitate building their affinity group
Facilitator Qualifications:
- Are a current early childhood educator with at least two full years of teaching experience by January 2025.
- Have a track record of success teaching students in child care centers, traditional public, or charter schools in Texas.
- Feel called to create a space for educators to come together.
- Have a passion for sharing the diverse perspectives and experiences of students and teachers with policymakers.
Our Teach Plus Texas teachers have:
- Testified at the Texas Legislature and met with state policymakers.
- Conducted research, including the use of surveys and focus groups.
- Successfully advocated for policy changes related to the instructional materials review and approval process, and more robust tutoring and academic support.
- Written op-eds that were published in such media outlets as Austin American-Statesman, Fort Worth Star-Tribune, San Antonio Express-News, and The Dallas Morning News.
- Published policy briefs about teacher vacancies, supporting and retaining teachers of color, and mental health.
Application Deadline: December 13, 2024
Questions? Contact Sofie Vastano at svastano@teachplus.org.
Interested in becoming an Affinity Group Facilitator?
Start your application below to apply to be a Facilitator .
Know a teacher leader?
Nominate a teacher who wants to achieve change in their schools and in the broader education system.
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