Q&A

Why did you join TFA?

I wanted to be a teacher, and TFA was the most accessible path without going back to college and paying more tuition. What really pushed me towards TFA was the social justice and equity piece. When researching TFA, I saw statistics all over the website. Seeing that lens that TFA held pushed me to choose this path. 

Describe your corps experience.

I was originally placed in Kansas City, but I had just moved to Indy. I called Brandon Brown, who was the school partnerships managing director at TFA Indy at the time, and he shared that they needed an elective teacher, which was perfect.

I taught Spanish at Harshman Middle School. Outside of the walls of my school, I was also in a pilot group with other corps members to talk about social justice issues in Indy during my second year of teaching. My first deep dive into the community piece of the equity work was looking at the history of Indy: school districts, boundary lines, redlining, and other equity issues. I can't separate my corps experience from that: it was the moment where this work became about being a member of the community and working with the community to make an impact.  Being part of TFA helped me build that lens that other teachers don't always have.

Additionally, in my professional learning community at Harshman, we read Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit. Through that group, my lens shifted away from just "I'm this person who loves and cares about my students and will do anything for them to get them out of challenges in life," which was semi-stereotypical for white woman going into a predominantly black and brown community to work. Alongside the work I was doing through TFA, my perspective evolved into "I'm doing work with the community." It was the first time seeing the bigger picture and see beyond the classroom to build context.

What progress have you seen in Indy?

In spaces I find myself in, like Indianapolis Public Schools as an example, there has been an increase in conversations about race and equity becoming more public. Schools are becoming increasingly involved in this work, and other districts like Hamilton Southeastern are engaging as well. We're getting a lot of conversations out in the open that need to be had. We're at a tipping point, and there's more willingness to have conversations without defensiveness. 

What advice do you have for corps members?

Be ready to do the equity work. Know that it’s a process and a lifelong journey. Don’t come in expecting to do two years and save a bunch of children and make your mark, then leave and do your own thing. Come in and know that, whether you stay in education or not, it's a lifelong journey. It feels icky sometimes and uncomfortable to confront your own identity and bias. But you have to do the work. 

When I was at Institute as a school director in our white affinity space, one corps member shared that their purpose for being in this space was just to teach: "I will do the equity work if I have to but I just want to teach." Many corps members snapped to that. That has stuck with me so much and made me realize, wow we're not there yet. There's still so much to be done.