October 2023
Alliance Newsletter
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH: REFLECTING & LOOKING FORWARD
City Teaching Alliance proudly celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month to honor the rich culture and invaluable contributions our Latinx and Hispanic educators bring to 
their classrooms. This video from Kat Clark and Teachers in Their Power reflects on the collective experiences of some of our Latinx and Hispanic participant-teachers and alumni, and looks ahead to the tremendous impact they will continue to advance in our schools and communities.
Looking ahead, we continue to recognize the need and opportunity to mobilize, uplift, and grow the next generation of Latinx and Hispanic educators.
Currently, only 9% of the U.S. teacher workforce is Latinx, versus nearly 25% of our students – a gap we can help close. Numerous staff, faculty, and alumni have come together over the last year to develop a foundational blueprint for a dedicated initiative named La Comunidad. During this first year of our new FY24-27 strategic plan, we will be listening, capacity-building, and developing a concrete, responsive, and comprehensive action and investment plan guided by our Latinx and Hispanic communities. We invite you to join us in this important work and help build a legacy of diverse teachers and school leaders to nurture, empower, and inspire our students, now and in the years and decades to come.
SPOTLIGHT ON PHILLY: A VISIT WITH OUR INAUGURAL FIRST-YEAR TEACHERS
At Mastery Charter School’s Lenfest Campus in Philadelphia (grades 7-12), our Development Team was honored to observe our teaching fellows Kiela Brewer (English Language Arts) and Kamal Jamison (Mathematics) leading their first middle school classrooms, where they have already cultivated responsive environments and enthusiastic students following a year of deep preparation as inaugural City Teaching Alliance Philly residents.
The school is located in the heart of Midtown, known for its historical landmarks amid a high-rise metropolis. The bustling cityscape is clearly visible from Ms. Brewer’s classroom windows, but every student was engrossed in their lessons with a quiet intensity that stood in stark contrast to the busy streets below.
Raymond Fields, Executive Director of City Teaching Alliance Philly, shared, “It is apparent that Kamal and Kiela have already established learning-centered relationships with their students, while affirming their identity markers via culturally relevant posters, engaging visuals, and reminders to ‘bring the joy’ via classroom decor. Both teachers circulated with purpose during their checkpoints, sharing smiles and eye contact with each of their students. It was powerful to see, in just the few weeks since school began, the positive, highly interactive, and mutually respectful classroom environment.”
Kamal explained that “it starts with relationships.” His eyes lit up when he spoke about his students and looked back on their challenges and triumphs – for example, the time he noticed that one of his students had guessed on most of their test answers, even though he knew they had the knowledge and skills to pass it on their own. With just a few words of support and affirmation from Mr. Jamison, that same student achieved a remarkably high score on the second try. This successful outcome is one of many our early-career teachers are celebrating in the first months of the school year, demonstrating what is possible for our students when we combine rigorous individualized instruction and high expectations with strong student relationships and positive, inclusive classroom culture. This is the core of our work at City Teaching Alliance.
Our CEO, Pete Shulman, was also on-site to visit with our educators. He affirmed, “Fantastic results for students are already apparent in our newest site. We are committed to continuing to build our Alliance toward a future where every child in Philly and across our communities has access to talented teachers like Ms. Brewer and Mr. Jamison, year after year.”
ALLIANCE HIGHLIGHTS
THANK YOU!
Thank you to everyone who supported our Dallas team on NTX Giving Day September 21st! We are honored to be a part of this life-changing community.
GIVING TUESDAY IS COMING!
With the holiday season rapidly approaching, we are enthusiastically decking the halls and reflecting on the joys and successes of 2023. We invite you to join us on Tuesday, November 28th, as we reimagine a world built upon shared humanity and radical generosity going into 2024. The #GivingTuesday movement is a global one, and you can have a real impact on our local children in Baltimore, DC, Dallas, and Philly.
Built on the philanthropic principle that everyone has something to give and every act of generosity counts, this is a chance to invest in the incredible outcomes happening right here in our communities. On or before November 28th, please visit cityteachingalliance.org/donate to support our mission!
JOIN THE ALLIANCE!
City Teaching Alliance [formerly dba Urban Teachers] is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization built on community collaboration, and there are so many ways you can help us achieve our mission!
CALLING ALL CORPORATE PARTNERS!
Do you or your partners serve and support teachers, college students, or young adults entering the workforce? Are you committed to ensuring all children 
have access to a quality education and being a part of creating a more equitable society? If so, let’s talk today! We have numerous sponsorship opportunities that provide critically necessary funding for our program, and we offer exciting opportunities for collaborative promotion of your business or brand.
Email us at Development@cityteachingalliance.org
OUR 2024 COHORT ARRIVES IN 8 MONTHS! Do you know an aspiring teacher? Share this with them!
APPLY HERE TODAY – our next deadline for this application year is November 13th.
City Teaching Alliance is more than a teacher preparation program – we’re a comprehensive preparation and development pathway with more holistic coursework and personalized support than any other teacher preparation program in operation today. Our teachers complete a full-year in-classroom residency prior to leading their own classrooms, earn a master’s degree from American University School of Education, and become dually certified to teach in a core subject area (elementary education, secondary English, or secondary math) and special education.* Additionally, we facilitate 85+ hours of coaching support over the first three years in the classroom, provide a growing suite of wraparound services and resources to facilitate whole-educator well-being, and nurture a vibrant learning community of lifelong practitioners.
*Our Dallas site also offers certification in English as a Second Language
DID YOU KNOW?
- In a 2022 Gallup Poll, teaching was the top profession for burnout in the United States. Staff shortages included paraprofessionals, instructional coaches, and substitute teachers.
- 35% of teachers say they are likely to quit within the next 2 years. (ED Week)
- 55% of educators indicate they are ready to leave the profession earlier than planned. (NEA)
We hope you will stay connected with us, our students, our educators, and our schools as we – and our growing network of dynamic practitioners – continue to learn, innovate, and co-create the future of teaching and learning in our communities. We will never share our mailing lists with outside organizations.
Please help us grow our City Teaching Alliance (formerly dba Urban Teachers) family by sharing this newsletter with your friends, business partners, and community thought leaders. City Teaching Alliance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (EIN 27-0989006). To learn more about us, visit our website at CityTeachingAlliance.org or Click Here to donate.
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