Teach For America

October is Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month! It is especially important that we take time to celebrate our disabled community members during a pandemic that disproportionately affects diversely abled folx, as well as during this era of protest against police brutality, an epidemic that also inordinately affects differently abled people, especially BIPOCs with disabilities. While the world is not designed with disabled folx in mind, we at TFA LA strive to prioritize ...inclusion through data and practices that level the playing field and allow all of our students, corps members, alumni, and staff to bring their best and most authentic selves to shared spaces. We’ve gathered a few resources below so you can continue to celebrate and educate yourself throughout October and beyond! (a very abbreviated) Disability History Timeline - https://drive.google.com//1oDVb2G4L2uk7hp3gS23fl5f5cd/view An Advocate’s Guide to Special Education - https://reports.innovateschools.org/an-advocates-guide-to-/ Forward Together: A School Leader’s Guide to Creating Inclusive Schools - https://www.ncld.org//Guide-to-Creating-Inclusive-Schools- Special Education Vision for Learning - https://drive.google.com//16H8elU75r6jWxRc2mtr7R1SwYC/view Inclusive Facilitation Guidelines - https://teachforamerica.app.box.com/s/awqk09hug0cw5if5brpqc Learner Variability vs. Special Education - https://teachforamerica.app.box.com/s/gmbk8yzfcd40zo48epjpa

Meet Shreya Mohan a 2018 Alum, a 10th Grade Teacher at Alliance Morgan McKinzie High School, and a 2020-2021 One Day Fellow! The One Day Fellowship is designed to evolve the teacher leadership practice of 3rd and 4th-year classroom teachers.

Meet Cristobal Rendon a 2018 Alum, 9th grade English Language Arts (ELA) at Alliance MIT, a 2020 -2021 One Day Fellow! The One Day Fellowship is designed to evolve the teacher leadership practice of 3rd and 4th-year classroom teachers.

Meet Daisy Lovera, a 2018 Alum, 2nd Grade Teacher KIPP Promesa Prep, and a 2020-2021 One Day Fellow! The One Day Fellowship is designed to evolve the teacher leadership practice of 3rd and 4th-year classroom teachers.

Meet Amanda Zimmerman a 2018 Alum, 2nd grade at KIPP Promesa Prep, a 2020 -2021 One Day Fellow! The One Day Fellowship is designed to evolve the teacher leadership practice of 3rd and 4th-year classroom teachers.

Meet Pilar Broussard 2018 Alumni, 8th Grade Resource Specialist at Robert F Kennedy Community Schools- New Open World Academy a 2020 -2021 One Day Fellow! The One Day Fellowship is designed to evolve the teacher leadership practice of 3rd and 4th-year classroom teachers.

Meet Daniel Gallegos a 2018 Alum, 3rd Grade Teacher at KIPP Promesa Prep, a 2020 -2021 One Day Fellow! The One Day Fellowship is designed to evolve the teacher leadership practice of 3rd and 4th-year classroom teachers.

Meet Kaitlin Vera a 2018 Alum, a 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Teacher at Southeast Middle School, a 2020 -2021 One Day Fellow! The One Day Fellowship is designed to evolve the teacher leadership practice of 3rd and 4th-year classroom teachers.

Our complete 2016 & 2017 corps! #onedayla

Register for our Saturday event at the link in our bio to hear stories from alumni like Natalie Ireland! Natalie Ireland (Los Angeles ‘18) knew she wanted to be a TFA Corps Member when, as a science major, she noticed that her college professors were majority white males. She realized that if she became a science teacher she would have the opportunity to inspire more girls and students of color to get involved in STEM, as well as being able to build a strong science program i...n a low-income school that may not have had one previously. She joined the corps and was assigned to Amino City of Champions Charter High School (Green Dot). In addition to building out a strong science program, Natalie saw an opportunity to help create a sports program at the relatively new school. Having played softball from the age of 5 all the way through college, she created a softball team for the school by recruiting kids to join and holding fundraisers to raise money for equipment, as well as donating much of her own gear. Natalie recognizes the opportunities that participating in sports can provide, as well as teaching kids valuable life lessons about the power of teamwork, perseverance, and healthy habits. Natalie wants to stay in the classroom for a few more years and continue to help expand the softball and science programs. After that, she hopes to become a lawyer who advocates for educational reform. See more

Register for our Saturday event at the link in our bio to hear stories from alumni like Maranda Maroe! Maranda Maroe (Los Angeles ‘11) knew she wanted to become a teacher when she began to notice the stark differences in the educational experiences she and her classmates were receiving in their elementary school. Says Maranda, From a young age, I knew that I wanted to fight for kids and ensure every student has an encouraging and inclusive school environment that pushes them... academically and holistically supports them in achieving their dreams. After being accepted into Teach For America, Maranda was placed in Los Angeles at Lakeview Charter Academy in the San Fernando Valley, then afterwards began working as a Manager, Teacher Leadership Development at Teach For America Los Angeles. Maranda later became Assistant Principal at Kayne Siart Academy and Middle School of Camino Nuevo Charter Academy. Most recently, she moved to the Chicago area to work as a K-8 Science Director. Maranda plans to stay in education indefinitely. In the long term, she aspires to one day lead a school as a principal and earn her doctorate in social justice in education, eventually leading a collective effort as a school district leader. See more

Register for our Saturday event (link in bio!) to hear stories from alumni like Che Caruthers! As a Spanish teacher, Che works towards educational equity by making sure that all of his lessons are culturally relevant to the native speakers in his class as well as accessible for his non-native speakers. He aims to demonstrate the importance of foreign languages in our Los Angeles community, particularly how Spanish is a part of the lives of so many Angelenos. He shared some of... his thoughts on his time withTFA LA: "One of my favorite moments would have to be when a student wrote me a letter at the end of the school year about how he feels more comfortable about himself as a gay teenager thanks to me being a person who can be openly gay . I still have the letter and it reminds me why I decided to be a teacher. TFA's continuing impact will be that there are folks who want to make a positive difference in the lives of others. The people and staff at TFA who I've had the fortune of meeting have always been models who I aspire to be like someday. See more

Today, Teach For America is taking time off to celebrate Indigenous People's Day -- a holiday initially created in 1989 to celebrate and honor Native American people, history, and culture. In celebrating this holiday, we reject the notion that Christopher Columbus discovered North America, instead urging everyone to recognize Native Americans as the first and right inhabitants of the stolen land which we now inhabit while acknowledging the genocidal and harmful effects of E...uropean imperialism and colonization. In celebrating the strength of Indigenous peoples, we’re sharing a few resources below. Let us know in the comments other ways you're celebrating and learning today! - Acknowledge the rightful first inhabitants of the land where you reside: https://bit.ly/33FtnQh - Explore the IllumiNatives Insight Action Guide for aspiring allies: https://bit.ly/3iH2Rdz - Sign this petition to revoke the federal holiday status of Columbus day: https://bit.ly/30JKheK - For teachers, take a look at this lesson plan about the real history of Christopher Columbus for grades 9-10: https://bit.ly/2Fd1vJW - And about the history of Indigenous People's Day for grades K-5: https://bit.ly/2GCY5ka - Use the IllumiNatives Indigenous People's Day Toolkit for even more ideas of how to celebrate: https://bit.ly/3jHFxh3 #IndigenousPeoplesDay #antiracisteducation #decolonizeyourcurriculum Photo credit: @indigenouspeoplesday on Instagram