Teacher Village Overview

STRATEGY AND BUSINESS MODEL Name: Peter Watts Jr. Email: pwatts@wattsofpowerfoundation.org Phone: (213) 361-9211 Mailing Address: 1613 W. 20th St. Los Angeles, CA 90007 Project Title: Teacher Village

PROJECT SUMMARY Peter Watts Jr. is piloting the Teacher Village, a culturally-affirming community-based approach to nurturing the development of African American public school teachers. The Village supplements the curriculum of existing credentialing programs to address the social, emotional, and housing needs of Black teachers-in-training. Its approach pays particular attention to Black men, many of whom must heal from trauma experienced in their lives and communities as they become teachers. The experience of the Teacher Village pilot in South Los Angeles will be shared through short videos, op-ed essays, workshops and webinars that will make the case for expanding the Teacher Village model nationally and explore the implications of the Village approach to overcoming histories of racial exclusion in other sectors of society.

PETER WATTS JR. Peter Watts Jr. grew up in South Los Angeles where he taught elementary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, served as a charter school principal, and became a pioneer in blended learning models long before the pandemic. He serves as an expert resource to school reform organizations and religious institutions on issues of race, education, and trauma-informed care.

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VISION AND NEED Public school teachers in the U.S. remain predominantly white. Only 20% of teachers are of color while 56% of students are.¹ A minuscule 2% of teachers are Black men. These disparities are actually increasing as the student population diversifies faster than the teaching profession.² California is one of many states where the gap is particularly striking: 35% of teachers but 77% of the students are people of color. More than 78,000 Black students in the state attend schools that have no Black teachers.³ Kids of color do better academically and socially when some of their teachers share their racial background. One study, for instance, showed that if a Black male student has at least one Black teacher between third and fifth grade their chance of dropping out of high school declines by 39% and their interest in attending college increases by 29%.⁴ Research also shows that all students, including white students, are more engaged and do better academically when they have teachers from a variety of racial backgrounds.⁵ All kids need to have experiences with a diversity of teachers so that their worldviews are expanded. Moreover, educators with an array of life experiences must be present in school districts across the country in order to advance and defend curriculum that accurately reflects the realities of the nation’s racial and social history.

1 Education Week video: “Why is America’s Teaching Force So White?” December 8, 2021, available on Youtube.

2 Pew Research Center: “America’s Public School Teachers are Far Less Racially hand Ethnically Diverse than their Students,” December 10, 2021.

3 Education Trust - West: “Seen, Heard, Reflected: A Look at California’s Teacher of Color Shortage,” November, 2019.

4 Seth Gershenson et al., “The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers” (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, Nov. 2018) 5 Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng and Peter F. Halpin, “The Importance of Minority Teachers: Student Perceptions of Minority Versus White Teachers,” Educational Researcher 45, no. 7 (Oct. 2016): 407-420.

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VISION AND NEED Many school district recruitment strategies do not support cultural, social, and emotional aspects of Black teachers' development. Likewise, teachers often feel overwhelmed and isolated. For African Americans this is exacerbated by what former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. calls an “invisible tax.” This can take many forms such as the unconscious expectation by white school leaders that Black teachers will take the lead on disciplining Black students and be the experts on all issues related to cultural diversity. New teachers in major metropolitan areas also face the challenge of finding affordable housing.

These realities mean that many new teachers leave the profession before they have achieved a level of mastery that would sustain a long career, and this is especially true in high needs communities. The resulting impact falls most heavily on kids of color who often face a treadmill of new teachers who rarely share their racial and cultural background, often are unqualified, and are likely to leave the profession within three years.

My New Schools Venture Fund Project, the Teacher Village, will highlight a comprehensive and culturally-affirming approach to recruiting, developing, and retaining African American public school teachers. It will include programming that addresses the specific realities faced by Black men, many of whom need to heal from the trauma they experienced in the educational system as they prepare to become teachers themselves.

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WHAT THE TEACHER VILLAGE PROVIDES Engages college seniors at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and local colleges in Los Angeles to encourage them to consider a career in education, and offers a Summer Village program in their senior year to help them explore the field.

Features a two-year Teacher Village Fellowship. After graduating from college, Fellows move into housing provided by the program, participate in a pre-service Summer Institute, and then work as teaching assistants under master teachers as they earn their teaching credentials through our partnerships with Local School Districts and formalized universities. During year two, they complete their student teaching and will be guaranteed a job placement.

Addresses the emotional, cultural, and soft skills development that are not the strength of the credentialing programs. The Village supplements those programs with additional workshops, professional mentoring, and peer support from within the cohort.

Provides housing until a new teacher is fully certified and has secured a teaching position. As they near completion, Fellows will also be connected to workshops and resources for first-time home owners and encouraged to work towards buying a home in the community.

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TIMELINE AND IMPACT Planning Phase

Present-2022

Formalize partnerships with: Local school districts Formalized universities Housing providers Recruit college juniors for the initial exploratory Summer Institute in 2022 Development of curriculum Raise additional funds Begin Fellows recruitment (during 2022-23 school year) for inaugural Fellows cohort

Pilot Phase

2023-2025

Select inaugural cohort of Teacher Village Fellows Run first full Fellows Summer Institute (summer 2023) Support inaugural cohort’s assistant teaching placements and completion of teaching credentials Recruit summer 2024 cohort Conduct formal evaluation of the Teacher Village pilot based on experience and results of the inaugural cohort Create framework and business plan for “franchising” the Teacher Village model so that it can be replicated in other communities; begin raising funds and negotiating partnerships for Expansion Phase (see below)

Expansion Phase

Starting in 2025

Sustain and refine the Teacher Village program in its inaugural community area in South Los Angeles.

Implement framework for “franchising” the Teacher Village model and launch new Teacher Village sites in other areas where there are high need schools and a shortage of African American educators.

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FUTURE GOALS AND VISION 1-3 Years College Seniors pursuing education as a profession/career Tell our story of effetiveness and impact Pilot program launch and expansion

4-6 years Black male educators fully credentialed in elementary schools Disposition of the Teacher will be focused on Ethic of Care and personal trauma Funding dedicated to the Black educator pipeline Affordable housing available for rent, lease, or purchase in neighborhoods where they serve

6-10 Years Improving the pipeline gap for Black Educators in California Homeownership for Black educators to build wealth and legacy Holistic support for pre-service teachers Improved School climate and achievement rates of Black and Brown students in high needs schools 6