It should have been a clue about my future when at seven years old I insisted that my friends interview to determine who would be our “teacher” during pretend school. I’m not sure many second graders care enough about their imaginary education to insist upon those standards.
It was a clue, but a clue that went unnoticed until just a couple of years ago.
While in college I began to have my eyes opened to the astounding education issues in the United States (primarily urban schools). Witnessing these same issues in Tanzania developed my understanding of the injustice occurring. Schools were not acting as the “great equalizer” I assumed they were. I took every opportunity in my Political Science course to research and write about education (Undocumented Children and Our Public Schools, Civic Education, senior paper on No Child Left Behind, etc…).
I explored a number of options for what this interest meant for me as a young grad looking for a work in possession of a Political Science degree. Not exactly the ideal resume, but I found a program which fit the bill beautifully and which seemed to think I would fit their bill as well.
Denver Teacher Residency (DTR) is an innovative program which launched this summer. Partnering with University of Denver and Denver Public Schools, it prepares professionals to work in Denver’s high-needs classrooms. Check out the website for more information.
Consider this my intro to what’s probably going to be my favorite blogging topic. I can’t wait to discuss the achievement gap, my students’ ridiculous quotes, and ideas on addressing this civil rights issue. What a teaser… hope you can sleep tonight.
(Alli)