Teaching in a low-income community in Phoenix as a 1998 Teach For America corps member, I understood right away that the classroom is a reflection of systemic inequities in our country. Our public schools are not designed to do what we need them to do for all kids. And it’s as obvious now as it was then that educational inequity is impervious to quick fixes.
Today, I spend most of my time in schools and in communities, engaging with educators, students and their families, civic leaders, and law makers from every background and across the political spectrum. …
As a Mexican-American woman, race and identity are front and center for me every day. My husband Jeremy is African-American, and together, we’re raising four phenomenal boys. We are working every day for a better world — one that will fully embrace them, and all children.
A critical part of reaching that world is acknowledging how far we are from it: our country has a long history of racism and oppression, and working against it means we must all step up each day.
I’m proud that, at Teach For America, we continue to expand and evolve our commitment to diversity…
In many ways, the nation has never seemed more divided — but this week, I felt the power of the bridges we can build.
On Tuesday, I joined in conversation with Randi Weingarten of the AFT, John King, the acting Secretary of Education, Harry Preston, a Teach For America alum who teaches in Baltimore today and is a member of the Baltimore Teachers Union Teacher Leaders Program. We were brought together by the Shanker Institute and spoke at Howard University’s School of Education on a panel about diversity in education, moderated by Dr. Leslie Fenwick.
Between the audience and the…
I am proud to be the mother of four African-American and Latino boys. I wish it were a given that their history is as much a part of America’s as anyone else’s. But still today, it’s not.
When a picture book featuring happy slaves is up for a Caldecott Medal—and when the slave trade itself is described as the “immigration” of millions of “workers” in high school textbooks—it’s clear that sometimes, our nation needs a special call to action.
At Teach For America, we believe a great education is more than academics—our students need to feel affirmed, respected, and empowered…
Step aside, Silicon Valley. Coding is for kids, too.
The toddlers of today will be the leaders of tomorrow, and we need to prepare them for our increasingly wired world.
As the mother of four boys between one and seven years old, I’m determined to make sure that my children — and all children in this nation — have a chance to explore computer science. That doesn’t mean we pop infants in front of computer screens — it means we expose children to the logical foundations of coding; we give them blocks, we give them visuals, we give them the…
ElisaVillanuevaBeard
CEO of @TeachForAmerica, proud wife and mother of four amazing boys, won’t stop until we achieve educational equity for all kids.
