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América Calderón, ¡Presente!
América Libertad Calderón, Teaching for Change senior parent organizer and lifelong fighter for justice, passed away on April 17, 2014 in Guatemala after a year long battle with cancer. América joined the Teaching for Change staff in February, 2008 as senior parent organizer for D.C. area schools and national training. Here is the profile she wrote …
Parent Organizer América Calderón Wins Dedication Award
For many parents in Washington, D.C.’s Latino community, América Calderón is the person who inspired and pushed them to speak up for their children. In her five years of organizing in D.C. schools with Teaching for Change, Calderón has built a reputation for going above and beyond for the parents and schools she serves. On …
Teaching for Change Featured at NCPIE
On Wednesday, April 24th, Teaching for Change will present our approach to turning the tables on parent-school relations at the monthly National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE) meeting. América Calderón, bilingual parent organizer, and Allyson Criner Brown, associate director, of Teaching for Change, will present recent research about Teaching for Change’s approach to parent-school …
DCPS Parents and Students at Immigration Reform Rally
More than 60 parents and students walked from one of the schools we work with, Thomson ES (DCPS), to the mall for the April 10 Immigration Reform Rally. There they joined thousands more people outside the U.S. Capitol. Teaching for Change’s senior parent organizer, America Calderon, helped organize this after-school action field trip and was …
The Secrets to Great Parent Meetings
The cornerstone of an effective parent engagement strategy is building relationships between parents, teachers, and administrators—but schools are becoming increasingly aware that traditional conferences and meetings with parents are not exactly engaging. “How to Have Better Parent Meetings,” Teaching for Change’s third Cross-City Parent Coordinator Training of the school year, detailed the essentials for a …
Two Chances to Learn About Award Winning Latino Children’s Literature
Teaching for Change is pleased to co-sponsor two events with the Américas Book Award in early October in Washington, DC. One of our staff members, America Calderon, served on the 2012 Americas Award selection committee. If you’ve not read the award winning titles, we encourage you to add them to your reading list today.
Teaching for Change Pioneers Latino Parent Leadership Training in D.C.
In Washington, D.C. and in cities across the country, cultural and language barriers present some of the biggest challenges to building effective home-school partnerships. Teaching for Change’s parent empowerment initiative has a few methods for overcoming this stumbling block: providing translation services for parent meetings, recruiting multilingual parent leaders, and promoting cultural understanding through community …
Working Together: Parents and Principal Start the Year with a Critical Dialogue
In a promising start to the 2012-2013 school year, parents at Strong John Thomson Elementary (D.C. Public Schools) convened for the first of many discussions with Principal Carmen Shepherd. Just after the start of the school day on September 7, about 30 parents—a few with toddlers or infants in tow—gathered in the large meeting room …
Dangerous Legal Status Precedent Averted
In mid-August, Teaching for Change staff member America Calderon saw a new requirement on the form for parents enrolling their children in afterschool programs: bring in proof of U.S. legal status. Teaching for Change staff members quickly made some calls and learned that this was not initiated by DCPS. Instead it is a requirement from …
Capturing Stories, Honoring Teachers
Twenty-four D.C. area teachers, administrators, and students recorded stories as part of the National Teachers Initiative the weekend of August 20-21, 2011 at the Teaching for Change offices. Teaching for Change was honored to partner with the National Teachers Initiative, a project of StoryCorps, to host these 40-minute conversations about teaching with DC area public …