By Dr. Rahesha Amon, CEO of City Teaching Alliance
When I think about the future of education, I don’t picture a system. I picture people.
I see classrooms filled with educators who stay. Individuals who find purpose in their work and pride in their craft. They see potential in every child and, through their daily practice, remind us what excellence looks like in action. That is the portrait of a City Teaching Alliance Alum.
Beyond Placement: Redefining What It Means to Stay
For too long, success in teacher preparation has been measured by placement—how quickly we can fill vacancies and get teachers in the classroom. As a former superintendent, I understand that urgency all too well. When a classroom sits empty, students lose time that can’t be replaced. But filling a vacancy isn’t the same as cultivating stability. What truly transforms schools is not how fast we staff them, but how we create the conditions where teachers are supported, valued, and inspired to stay.
At City Teaching Alliance, we’ve built a model around that belief. Through coaching & mentoring, coursework, certification, clinical experience, and community building, we prepare educators to thrive from day one. Our alumni are showing us what’s possible when teaching is treated as the profession it is: one that demands rigor, reflection, and deep respect.
This year alone, fourteen City Teaching Alliance alumni were recognized as Teachers of the Year or Teachers of Promise across our regions. Spanning states, grade levels, and school networks, fourteen educators represent what staying power looks like. What unites them is unmistakable: each reflects attributes that define an alum: driving impact, seeking knowledge, building community, and shaping school culture from the inside out.
The Seven Attributes of an Alum
Every portrait tells a story. Ours is shaped by seven defining attributes that we see across our alumni community:
- Impact Driver: They translate purpose into measurable progress for students and schools.
- Knowledge Seeker: They remain lifelong learners, modeling curiosity for their students.
- Community Connector: They build bridges between schools, families, and neighborhoods.
- Strategic Advocate: They speak up for equity, resources, and opportunity in their classrooms and beyond.
- Resilient Problem Solver: They adapt with creativity and courage, turning obstacles into growth.
- Credentialed Professional: They combine skill with scholarship, elevating teaching as a respected career.
- Culture Leader: They shape environments where teachers and students alike can thrive.
While these attributes evoke vision and aspiration, they’re also observable in how our educators teach, mentor, and lead every day.
Excellence in Action: What Our Alumni Teach Us
When I meet our alumni, I’m again reminded that the strength of this profession is measured in people, not numbers. Each story shows a different face of the power of choice. To choose to stay, to lead, and to give back.
In Dallas, I think of AJ Gipson, a special education teacher who has spent five years turning connection into action, linking families to transportation, teaching parents how to use assistive technology, and reminding all of us that empathy is most powerful when it shows up in daily life. Or, Sinh Nguyen, who shows us the beauty of continuity. A two-time Teacher of the Year at the same school where he began, he embodies the idea that longevity is its own form of impact, the kind that allows students to see familiar faces guiding them year after year.
In Washington, D.C., Caleb Franklin models consistency as an act of care. His classroom hums with community. Through his mentorship work with the BOND Learning and Leadership Institute, he’s helping young men see leadership as identity, not title.
And in Baltimore, Jevons Liu reminds us that high expectations are an act of love when paired with support. Launching his school’s first AP Calculus program, he’s opened doors for students who now see themselves as mathematicians and problem-solvers.
Each of them—AJ, Sinh, Caleb, and Jevons—shows us that great teaching is a movement built on endurance, purpose, and love for community. They are what the Portrait of an Alum looks like in living color.
Why This Matters
Education doesn’t need a rescue story; it needs a recognition story. The teachers who stay are already showing us what works.
Our role, as preparation partners, policymakers, and community leaders, is to build the conditions that help more educators do the same: rigorous training, meaningful mentorship, and long-term investment. When we raise our commitment to teaching as a career, we raise outcomes for entire communities.
Over the years, I’ve often heard people say that teachers perform miracles every day. I appreciate that those words usually come from a place of admiration, but a miracle implies something without reason or explanation. In teaching, success is the direct result of intention, effort, and the steady dedication of educators who choose to show up every day. The educators who commit to it deserve a profession that recognizes their expertise and honors their staying power.
Dr. Rahesha Amon is the Chief Executive Officer of City Teaching Alliance, a national nonprofit that has prepared and supported more than 2,700 educators across 500 schools serving 400,000 students in Baltimore & Central Maryland, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Greater D.C. Metro. A former Teacher of the Year, principal, and district superintendent in New York City Public Schools, she has spent her career coaching, mentoring, and elevating thousands of educators at every level from early childhood through higher education teacher preparation.
