Austin Annual Report 2022

PHOTO BY WHITNEY AROSTEGUI © TEACH FOR AMERICA

Phillip Bedford Board Chair

Oklahoma City '14

Andrea Gutierrez Team Lead Rio Grande Valley '12

Babatunde Abon Massachusetts '18

Jess Chacón Philadelphia '03

Alexa Higginbothan Rio Grande Valley '13

Brianna Lozito

Dallas-Fort Worth '13

John Magner Memphis '12

Ian McEntee South Louisiana '19

Daniella

Patiance

Kristen Mosley Dallas Fort Worth '14

Nicholas Munce Dallas-Fort Worth '18

Daniela Rubio Atlanta '08

Katie

Jasmine

Aimée

On behalf of Teach for America Austin (TFA Austin), I thank you for your support during another year of adaptive, yet hopeful times, as our educators continue responding to new challenges emerging from the pandemic. Since our launch in 2019, we grew from 800 to over 1,000 TFA alumni in our city; 53% are still working across the entire education system, at the state level, across 8 Central Texas school districts, and 8 charter school networks As the first Alumni Innovation Region in the country, I am excited by the continued evolution of our work as we build our career matching services, professional development programs, and our coordinated statewide efforts with our fellow TFA regions that are in place for our third year of operations.

Our leaders see challenges as opportunities to take hold of and determine how to best support our city’s children We support our alumni network and community to develop their leadership skills towards reimagining and improving education systems in Austin. We connect our educators to impactful roles in Austin, convene key stakeholders to build our collective understanding of the strengths and needs in our community, and deliver intensive professional development programs for educators and school leaders. All of these efforts are to meet the diverse social, emotional, and academic needs of students and help them create their own pathway for success in school and life

To reach this reality for our students, TFA Austin has a bold gal By 2030, twice as many children in Austin ISD and East Travis County will achieve postsecondary readiness and success, indicating they are on a path to economic mobility and co-creating a future filled with possibility.

To reach this reality for our students, TFA Austin has a bold goal:

To achieve our 2030 goal, TFA’s role in Austin’s education sector is transforming from supporting individual educators to entire school systems. This starts with intentionally concentrating our support and partner collaborations to Austin ISD and East Travis County to deepen our impact where it’s needed most In the coming school year, this will look like supporting long term systems change by providing high quality fellowship experiences to early career alumni eager to transform their school communities by delivering a student centered, equitable, twenty first century learning experience for every student. We will also support these communities with immediate needs, by launching the Ignite Fellowship in Austin which will provide high dosage, high impact tutoring to middle school students who need additional support to catch up on unfinished learning resulting from the continued educational disruptions during the pandemic.

Empowered Leaders and Thriving Students,

As a network of empoered leaders and thriving students wwe will be a driving force for equitable growth in Austin, seeking to change the prevailing narrative around what’s possible for our students and schools I look forward to sharing our progress with you

Christine Nishimura Executive Director

EMPOWEREDLEADERS,THRIVINGSTUDENTS

TFA Austin is leading the way as the first Alumni Innovation Region focused on meeting our ambitious 2030 goal: By 2030, twice as many students in Austin ISD and East Travis County will achieve postsecondary readiness and success indicating they are on a path to economic mobility and co creating a future filled with possibility.

Through our collective leadership, in partnership with the community, we aim to support and develop a courageous, innovative, and diverse group of leaders in the classroom, on campuses, and in communities.

162

TEACHERS ACROSS 8 SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND 8 CHARTER NETWORKS

CENTRALTEXASSYMPOSIUM

SCHOOL SYSTEM LEADERS, TEA LEADERSHIP, AND DISTRICT AND CMO CENTRAL OFFICES

72

POLICY AND ADVOCACY LEADERS WORKING TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL CHILDREN

7

56 66

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS, INCLUDING SCHOOL FOUNDERS

SCHOOL LEADERS, INCLUDING PRINCIPALS AND SCHOOL DIRECTORS

In April 2022, TFA Austin hosted our inaugural Central Texas Education Symposium. The Symposium was a first of its kind, bringing together the entire education community, as an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the educational landscape here in Austin. With over 100 attendees, the Symposium was a tremendous success in connecting our community and sharing information about the progress we have made, as well as the challenges ahead of us as we strive to ensure excellent education for all students in the Central Texas region. We look forward to making the symposium an annual event you won't want to miss!

Justine Aquino San Antonio '19

Justine is a Filipina immigrant whose family moved to Texas so she could receive a good education. It wasn’t until later in life that she realized her favorite teachers were all Teach For America corps members, which inspired her to become a teacher and build connections with her students the way those corps members did with her. Now, she is continuing her educational journey with TFA Austin through the Teacher Leadership Fellowship, through which she has met and learned from other highly motivated educators. By developing her teaching abilities and leadership skills, she hopes to be more like the teachers she had growing up, and she hopes she continues to make a lasting impact on her students.

Don Kim Bay Area '17

Don is a digital media teacher and special education content lead at IDEA Pflugerville, where he combines his interests and talents by developing an innovative curriculum with a focus on new technologies and cultural awareness. For him, the value of the TFA alumni network in Austin has been incalculable. The School Leadership Learning Lab provided hope and connection during the pandemic, and he believes that being able to share ideas with others who have experience in the field enables teachers in Austin to have a greater impact more quickly. He was also able to leverage support from the TFA Austin network to raise $15,000 in food support for his students during the pandemic!

Heather Stephens

Rio Grande Valley '02

Heather is a librarian at McBee Elementary School who encourages lifelong learning and literacy in our city’s children. She has received recognition as Librarian of the Year, and has excelled at engaging students and their families in literary adventures. When a book series (Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo) captured the imaginations of her students, Heather secured a donation sufficient to buy a copy of the book for every 2nd grader so they could enjoy the books without a waiting list. It’s taken a life of its own, with Bink and Gollie themed cookies and a pancake party for the entire grade level. A librarian knows better than anyone that when students are provided with educational resources, it sparks an interest that turns them into lifelong learners.

Teach

COMMUNITYPARTNERSHIPS

Teach For America Austin is proud to partner with Austin ISD, Austin Achieve, Manor ISD, and Transcend.

TFA Austin held a Community Conversation with Austin ISD leadership about the challenges the district is facing and how they plan to continue to support students and families

The Ignite Fellowship established a new partnership with Austin Achieve in which TFA Austin recruits and supports college students to directly support students by providing small group math tutoring at the middle school.

7 principals from Manor ISD participated in our School Leadership Learning Lab, creating an action plan to implement more equity-focused principles into their schools.

Teach For America Austin's School Leadership Learning Lab, a four month learning series for school leaders, was developed in partnership with Transcend.

ONE DAY, ALL CHILDREN IN THIS NATION WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTAIN AN EXCELLENT EDUCATION.