Laila Patrick held her breath in anticipation, waiting to hear her name called as her two children played on the floor nearby. Ms. Patrick sat with her muscles tensed, at the edge of her seat, with her mother supportively sitting in the chair beside her. “She’s talking about me!” Ms. Patrick whispered to her mother …
Do you remember those long evenings, seated in the auditorium at Back to School Night? Were you struggling to keep from nodding off while one school administrator after another took the stage to tell you all you need to know about the school rules and expectations? By the end of the evening, school staff and parents alike are tired …
In a recently released report, the Eugene and Agnes Meyer Foundation celebrated efforts by Teaching for Change to expand the impact of our parent engagement work through storytelling. Sharing stories is an integral part of Tellin’ Stories, Teaching for Change’s parent engagement approach, but it had not been a core piece of the organization’s communications …
Teaching for Change is pleased to partner with the D.C area afterschool program called For Love of Children (FLOC). FLOC runs a Neighborhood Tutoring Program, Scholars Program, and Outdoor Education Center. As a result of active participation in FLOC programs, students gain an average of one year of grade level equivalency in reading skills in …
The only thing that will make our lives or our deaths meaningful is that we tell the story of why we did what we did and why the others died. Charles McDew (June 23, 1938 – April 4, 2018) describes the terror of imprisonment and threats to the lives of Civil Rights Movement activists and others during …
Grandparents Jaime and Lorenza Vargas* sat among the 85 parents and guardians who flooded into the cafeteria of Brightwood Education Campus (DCPS) for the first Parent-Principal Chit Chat of the year on September 26, 2014. The Vargas family has two grandchildren in grades 5 and 7 who had arrived in the United States from the …
The Hurston/Wright Foundation has announced the nominations for the 2014 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. A winner and two finalists in each category will be honored at the 13th annual Legacy Award Ceremony on Friday, October 24, at the Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C. Wil Haygood, award-winning biographer and journalist, will serve as …
This year, bilingual school counselor Senovia Hurtado has been entrusted with the mission of revitalizing family engagement at Brightwood Education Campus (DCPS), a pre-K through eighth grade school in Washington, D.C. It’s her 15th year in DC Public Schools, but her first as a parent coordinator. With a reopened parent center, a supportive principal and …
Our colleague Pat Goudvis has launched an extraordinary new student-friendly website on Central America called When We Were Young, There Was a War. Visitors are introduced to the powerful stories of two individuals from El Salvador and Guatemala. (Eventually there will be more.) Through short video clips, they describe the impact of the war on their lives when …
Our colleague Alice Cook invited Teaching for Change staff to serve as judges every year for her innovative social justice student math fair when she taught at a D.C. high school. We were pleased to get a call to help again in Cook’s new role teaching pre-service teachers in a master’s certification program (MCERT) at the University …
Victory in Ward 8: Orr Parents Organize for New Building and New Leadership
Laila Patrick held her breath in anticipation, waiting to hear her name called as her two children played on the floor nearby. Ms. Patrick sat with her muscles tensed, at the edge of her seat, with her mother supportively sitting in the chair beside her. “She’s talking about me!” Ms. Patrick whispered to her mother …
Welcome Back Breakfast: Parents and Staff Meet and Greet
Do you remember those long evenings, seated in the auditorium at Back to School Night? Were you struggling to keep from nodding off while one school administrator after another took the stage to tell you all you need to know about the school rules and expectations? By the end of the evening, school staff and parents alike are tired …
Meyer Foundation Spotlights Teaching for Change’s Storytelling Efforts
In a recently released report, the Eugene and Agnes Meyer Foundation celebrated efforts by Teaching for Change to expand the impact of our parent engagement work through storytelling. Sharing stories is an integral part of Tellin’ Stories, Teaching for Change’s parent engagement approach, but it had not been a core piece of the organization’s communications …
For Love of Children Book Festival
Teaching for Change is pleased to partner with the D.C area afterschool program called For Love of Children (FLOC). FLOC runs a Neighborhood Tutoring Program, Scholars Program, and Outdoor Education Center. As a result of active participation in FLOC programs, students gain an average of one year of grade level equivalency in reading skills in …
Charles McDew: “Why The Others Died”
The only thing that will make our lives or our deaths meaningful is that we tell the story of why we did what we did and why the others died. Charles McDew (June 23, 1938 – April 4, 2018) describes the terror of imprisonment and threats to the lives of Civil Rights Movement activists and others during …
Making Parents and Grandparents Feel Welcomed at a New School
Grandparents Jaime and Lorenza Vargas* sat among the 85 parents and guardians who flooded into the cafeteria of Brightwood Education Campus (DCPS) for the first Parent-Principal Chit Chat of the year on September 26, 2014. The Vargas family has two grandchildren in grades 5 and 7 who had arrived in the United States from the …
Hurston/Wright Foundation 13th Annual Legacy Award
The Hurston/Wright Foundation has announced the nominations for the 2014 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. A winner and two finalists in each category will be honored at the 13th annual Legacy Award Ceremony on Friday, October 24, at the Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C. Wil Haygood, award-winning biographer and journalist, will serve as …
Family Partner Series Offers D.C. Schools a Fresh Start on Family Engagement
This year, bilingual school counselor Senovia Hurtado has been entrusted with the mission of revitalizing family engagement at Brightwood Education Campus (DCPS), a pre-K through eighth grade school in Washington, D.C. It’s her 15th year in DC Public Schools, but her first as a parent coordinator. With a reopened parent center, a supportive principal and …
New Website for Students on Central America
Our colleague Pat Goudvis has launched an extraordinary new student-friendly website on Central America called When We Were Young, There Was a War. Visitors are introduced to the powerful stories of two individuals from El Salvador and Guatemala. (Eventually there will be more.) Through short video clips, they describe the impact of the war on their lives when …
Equipping New Teachers with Social Justice Literature
Our colleague Alice Cook invited Teaching for Change staff to serve as judges every year for her innovative social justice student math fair when she taught at a D.C. high school. We were pleased to get a call to help again in Cook’s new role teaching pre-service teachers in a master’s certification program (MCERT) at the University …