SW 2013CorpsMemberPre-InstituteWork-3 1

2013 PRE-INSTITUTE WORK
TEACH FOR AMERICA

INTRODUCTION
In years past, new Teach For America corps members arrived home to find a hefty package of pre-work
on their doorsteps. Each package weighed more than a small turkey (10.3 pounds), cost $15 to ship, and
contained nearly 1,800 pages of reading. Kristen Boye, the staff member who oversaw the printing and
delivery of these materials, described how it likely felt: “Welcome to Teach For America. Here are nine
textbooks.”
Since then, a lot has changed. Beyond going mostly paperless, we have added far more choice into our
pre-work. At different junctures, you’ll have opportunities to decide which content to explore and to
pick your preferred mode of reflection. We’ve also included multimedia materials from external sources
and inserted much more space for self-reflection. Most importantly, we have overhauled the pre-work’s
contents.
While, formerly, this preparation centered around the technical aspects of teaching—like classroom
management and lesson planning—we found that trying to learn the craft of teaching from a book (with
no opportunity for practice) was not helpful to many people. That’s not to say teaching-related content
is entirely absent from this year’s pre-work. Nor is it to say that we don’t see pedagogy as central to
your training. In fact, Institute will focus on helping you grasp teaching’s nuts and bolts as you empower
your summer school students to make incredible academic strides.
But, you’ll notice that much of this work focuses on the systemic causes of educational inequity in our
country and the kind of leadership that’s required to gain traction against them. We believe that by
grappling with the causes and consequences of educational inequity and by considering who you are as
a leader, you’ll arrive in the classroom better poised to fight for and with your students and their
families.
Our pre-work has eight parts:
 It’ll begin with a broad survey of some of the systemic causes of inequity in our country and
cover some issues that often accompany poverty (Part I: The Causes of Educational Inequity
and the Obstacles of Poverty—8 hours).
 We’ll then highlight some incredible people who are fighting (and making headway against)
those injustices (Part II: Cage Fighters—1.5 hours).
 From there, we’ll narrow the spotlight and focus on leaders who are making a system-level
difference in education (Part III: The Latch Breakers—1.5 hours).
 Then, our focus will narrow again. We’ll take a look at how teachers foster change in the
classroom, and explore some of the traits and actions that make teachers in low income
communities effective (Part IV: Teaching as Leadership—7.5 hours).
 Next, through reading, writing, and interviewing others, you’ll begin exploring how your identity
will affect your work as a classroom teacher (Part V: Reflecting on Personal Identity—8.5
hours).
 Many of these pieces will converge as you travel to a school, observe in a couple of classrooms,
talk to teachers, and interview at least one student (Part VI: Classroom Observations—10
hours).
 You’ll then craft your Story of Self, a narrative about a past challenge you’ve faced, which you’ll
use to introduce yourself to other corps members (Part VII: Story of Self—2 hours).
© 2012 Teach For America 2

 Finally, you’ll have opportunities to build your knowledge about effective teaching practices.
You’ll try your hand at lesson planning. You’ll see optional resources worth perusing—if you
know the grade or content level you’ll be teaching. And, you’ll also have a chance to see all of
our former pre-work, if you think reading more about the technical components of teaching prior
to Institute will be helpful to you. The time required for this section will differ based on your
teaching placement (Part VIII: Four Last Things—3.5 hours, at minimum).
While no one will be collecting or “grading” this pre-work, your regional and institute training will draw
explicitly on various exercises you’ve completed. You will be asked to share your thoughts and reactions
to different pieces, and your lesson planning sessions at institute begin where this pre-work leaves off.
Although we’re excited about our pre-Institute work, we also know that it carries some risks. Issues of
inequity and social justice are often deeply personal. Some of the pre-work may cause you to think
about injustices that have affected you or your loved ones. It may challenge your beliefs about American
meritocracy. It may make the obstacles that our students and families experience seem overwhelming.
It may surprise you. It may make you angry or upset. It may seem new to you or lead you to want to ask
tons of questions.
It may also paint a picture of people and issues that, to you, seems too negative or simple or
incomplete. Please know that we are not trying to provide a comprehensive analysis of the causes of
educational inequity. No pre-work can capture our communities’ complexity or strength or their
diversity. Even Teach For America’s staff members hold many competing views about the central causes
of educational inequity. We have curated these materials to provoke thought and discussion. We
encourage you to supplement what you watch, read, and hear with research of your own. Bring your
views and experiences to the table. Feel free to be critical of the perspectives you encounter.
And, share your feedback with us. Since you are one of the first groups to experience our “new” pre-
work, your thoughts will help us improve it for future corps members.
It’s worth noting here, too, that we want this spirit of collaboration to influence our ongoing work as a
national community. While we’re really proud of what we’ve done for and with our corps members over
the past two decades, we have sometimes failed to create an environment where our corps and staff
members felt united in the same fight. At times, our corps members have suppressed their real
thoughts, feelings, and selves—because they felt that doing “what Teach For America asks” seemed
easier.
We’re working on this.
At times, our ideas about how to make your experience more personal, more honest, and more organic
may be right on. At other times, we’ll surely miss the mark. One thing’s for sure: it’s going to take each
one of us—corps and staff—working in step, to be the kind of community that fosters radically different
opportunities for our students.
As individuals, we are all in a perpetual state of growth. We are all constantly expanding, challenging,
and deepening our views about educational inequity, why it exists, and the most promising ways to
combat it.
Welcome to this messy, deeply personal, and important journey of learning.

A Note about Language Choices in the 2013 Pre-Work
You may notice that the phrase “achievement gap” is missing from the vast majority of this pre-work.
While leaders across the country – like Arne Duncan, Marian Wright Edelman, and Geoffrey Canada –
still use this term, members of our organization have been talking openly and frequently about its
meaning and its use for some time.
In November, one of our alums, Dr. Camika Royal (Baltimore ’99) published an article titled “Please Stop
Using the Phrase ‘Achievement Gap’” for GOOD Magazine’s online platform. There, Dr. Royal shared her
concerns about how we – and some of those who share our mission – often compare the academic
achievement of students of color to the achievement of their white peers. She wrote:
Because of America's racial history and legacy, the cross-racial comparison that
holds up white student achievement as the universally standard goal is problematic.
Further, the term "achievement gap" is inaccurate because it blames the historically
marginalized, under-served victims of poor schooling and holds whiteness and
wealth as models of excellence. And, as with all misnomers, the thinking that
undergirds the achievement gap only speaks of academic outcomes, not the
conditions that led to those outcomes, nor does it acknowledge that the outcomes
are a consequence of those conditions.
Dr. Royal’s entire article prompted a lot of discussion. Some of the discussion was about the term itself
and what better terms might be. But even more important, some of the discussion was about issues of
race, power, and privilege that underlie concerns with the term. (You can read some of those
discussions here, from alumni and staff members, and here, from a staff member who also works with
our international network, Teach For All.)
We want all students – those in communities where we currently work and beyond – to meet the
highest standards of international, academic excellence. One consequence of the cross-racial
comparison of academic performance implied by the term “achievement gap” is that it positions the
achievements of white people in America as the standard to which all people should be judged,
regardless of whether that level of academic achievement actually represents excellence. In reality,
achievement scores vary considerably across racial groups domestically and internationally (and white
Americans are not the top scoring group), and vary even more within groups based on available
academic opportunities. Our central concern is not the gap in average academic performance of one
group against the average performance of another group—it is that so many individual children do not
reach their academic potential, and the inequitable distribution of educational opportunities is a major
cause of that.
But beyond obscuring our intention and central concern, the term “achievement gap” is hurtful and
offensive to many. While some members of the Teach For America community have long recognized or
felt this hurt themselves, others are only now becoming aware of the consequences this term has had.
And that reality – that some members of our movement have been offended by language that others
have used so frequently and mechanically – has brought into the open critical conversation about race,
power, and privilege within the walls of Teach For America.

Even though we are not using the term “achievement gap” within this pre-work, we continue to offer
you articles and videos that paint discrepancies between various racial and socioeconomic groups. We
do that because we want to talk openly about the ways in which our country’s history of racism and
classism has affected opportunities for people of color and people living in poverty. We do not want to
obscure the many cross-racial and cross-class statistical comparisons that reveal stark inequities in both
outcomes and opportunities that persist today and are correlated to race and class. We believe those
inequities are unjust, demand our action, and give us important context in which to understand the
many causes and consequences of educational inequity.
Because of these ongoing discussions, many teams at Teach For America are making the choice to begin
the process of removing the term “achievement gap” from our written materials and striking it from our
speech. We are committed to continuing the dialogue about the impact of race, class, and privilege
within Teach For America, the communities in which we teach, and our nation at large. It is important
to note that there are people who share that same commitment and have reached a different
conclusion about the term “achievement gap.” As a result, you are likely to hear the phrase inside and
outside of Teach For America for some time to come, including from many well-informed and well-
intentioned people. We wanted to use this note to alert you to these important conversations, invite
you to join them, and give you a window into how seriously we take this.

Table of Contents
Part I: The Causes of Educational Inequity and the Obstacles of Poverty (8 hours)
Part II: Cage Fighters (1.5 hours)
Part III: The Latch-Breakers (1.5 hours)
Part IV: Teaching As Leadership (7.5 hours)
Part V: Reflecting On Personal Identity (8.5 hours)
Part VI: Classroom Observations (10 hours)
Part VII: Story of Self (2 hours)
Part VIII: Four Final Steps and Additional Material for ECE and SPED teachers (3.5+ hours)
Please Note: Many of the readings linked here are copyrighted. Permission has been granted by the
publishers for this specific use; no additional distribution or reproduction is allowed.

PART I: THE CAUSES OF EDUCATIONAL INEQUITY AND THE OBSTACLES OF
POVERTY (8 HOURS)
Introduction
The forces barring our kids’ access to opportunities are complicated and intertwined. If we don’t
understand these barriers, it can be tempting—when we meet kids who are often several grade levels
behind—to question their motivation and lose sight of what’s at stake for them.
This temptation is enhanced by the constant presence of negative messages about poor people and
people of color in our culture. Beverly Tatum likens these images to “smog in the air.” “Day in and day
out,” she writes, even if we try to avoid them, “we are breathing…in” messages about our students’
deficiencies.
To build – or deepen – our resistance to this “smog,” our pre-work’s first part will explore some of the
social and historical factors blocking our students’ paths to academic and other opportunities. Our hope
is that, regardless of where you grew up, what you studied in college, or what you have been doing
during the past few years, this section will enhance your understanding of what’s on the line for our
kids.
Before you begin, it’s important to recognize that the complexity of the issues our students and families
face cannot be captured in a couple dozen readings and videos. It’s also critical to note that our
communities are not monolithic. There is tremendous diversity in the places we teach. Some cities have
dozens of racial and ethnic groups living on the same block. There are more than 560 tribes in America’s
Indian Country. Cuban Americans out-perform white students in college attainment, while their Puerto
Rican and Mexican-American peers drop out of school at alarming rates.
Think of the resources here as dots on a page that—as you get to know your students, families, their
strengths, and the obstacles they face—you will be able to erase, re-plot, connect, and fill in until you
have a more complete picture of the issues facing your community.
With that said, this pre-work section has two main components.
The first contains a core set of readings that illuminate the causes of academic disparities and explore a
small number of poverty- and race-related issues. Here, you’ll read about systemic racism, how public
schools are funded, poverty interventions throughout history, housing discrimination, the mass
incarceration of black men in America, and how people’s income affects their medical care. In the
excerpt from Chutes and Ladders, an ethnography, you’ll see many of these issues converging in the life
of one former fast food restaurant worker.
The second part provides you with the chance to choose the groups and issues you want to learn more
about. For instance, if you’re going to be teaching Latino students this summer and/or in your region,
you may want to explore videos, books, and articles about immigration issues and the Latino education
crisis. If you’re headed to a Native American region, you may choose to familiarize yourself with videos
about the impact of diabetes on Native Americans. If you are interested in medicine, you may explore
the health disparities facing multiple groups. Let your interests and curiosity guide you.

Guiding Questions for Part I
 “Racism,” Beverly Tatum writes in Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? is
“a system…(that] clearly operates to the advantage of Whites and to the disadvantage of people
of color.” In what ways, throughout this section, did you notice interplay between the different
elements of this system?
 How does poverty affect people’s daily choices? In what ways do these day-to-day decisions
accumulate and constrict the opportunities of people living in low-income areas?
 When you consider all of the individuals who are highlighted in this section, are there common
characteristics or strengths that tie them together?
 What personal thoughts, feelings, and questions did the materials in Part I raise for you?
Core Readings (5 hours)
SETTING THE STAGE: RACISM IN AMERICA (30 MINUTES)
“Defining Racism: ‘Can we talk?’” Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria. Beverly
Tatum. “Racism,” Tatum writes, is “a system …[that] clearly operates to the advantage of Whites and to
the disadvantage of people of color.” This short chapter from Tatum’s book exposes the core reasons
behind racial inequity in America and has themes that emerge throughout our core readings. (15 Pages,
25 minutes)
DISPARITIES IN EDUCATION (60 MINUTES)
“Other People’s Children” Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. Jonathan Kozol. In this
classic text, Kozol provides a window into the disparities between Chicago’s Public Schools and those in
the city’s wealthy suburbs. Pay attention to his description of how school funding works, and consider
how the racial advantages that Tatum describes play out in Kozol’s portrait of New Trier and “private
sector boosterism.” (38 Pages, 55 minutes)
DISPARITIES IN HEALTH CARE (35 MINUTES)
“Living in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods is Bad for Your Health.” Unnatural Causes…is inequality
making us sick? After the Second World War, federal housing policies encouraged investment the
suburbs and discouraged racial integration. These housing policies have, historically, had significant
health consequences for African-Americans. And, increasingly, they are affecting the well-being of
Southeast Asian immigrants. Learn more in this short, important video. (4 minutes)
“Life at the Top in America Isn't Just Better, It's Longer.” The New York Times. May 16, 2005. Janny
Scott. This article, which profiles three heart attack victims in New York, explores how money influences
patients’ medical outcomes. “Class informed everything,” Scott found. “It shaped [patients’]
understanding of their illness, the support they got from their families, their relationships with their
doctors. It helped define their ability to change their lives and shaped their odds of getting better.” Are

there ways in which Kozol’s book about schools, their funding, and results overlaps with Scott’s
exploration of patients and the care they receive? (9 Pages, 30 minutes)
DISPARITIES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE (60 MINUTES)
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Michelle Alexander (12 Pages, 20
minutes) / Legal Scholar: Jim Crow Still Exists in America (40 minute radio interview). “The unfortunate
reality we must face,” Alexander writes, “is that racism not only manifests itself in individual attitudes
and stereotypes, but also in the basic structure of society.” Throughout this chapter and in her radio
interview, Alexander unravels how our country uses legal practices, political disenfranchisement, and
mass incarceration to systematically restrict the opportunities of African-American men. Pay attention
to the “’birdcage’ metaphor” she references, and consider how it reinforces ideas from other readings
you’ve already done. How, if at all, does Alexander’s book and interview cause you to rethink the
reasons that, “in Chicago (as in other cities across the United States), young black men are more likely to
go to prison than to college?”
POVERTY IN AMERICA (120 MINUTES)
“Unequal Childhoods.” Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America.
Paul Tough. “Why are poor people poor? And by extension: Why do they stay poor? And what would it
take to get them out of poverty?” In this chapter of his portrait of Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem
Children Zone, Paul Tough attempts to answer these questions. (32 Pages, 55 minutes)
“Selling Food Stamps For Kids’ Shoes.” Colorlines. Seth Freed Wessler. “Blacks, Latinas and Asians
nationwide are about two times more likely than whites to have been pushed off cash assistance as a
result of time limits, rather than for another reason.” This article explores the racial politics of welfare as
well as the tough decisions facing poor people who have stopped receiving a welfare check in the midst
of our biggest job crisis in decades. How are the arguments made by the social scientists that Paul Tough
chronicles playing out in the lives of real people like Eva Hernandez? (12 Pages, 30 minutes)
“Kyesha’s Miracle.” Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low-Wage Labor Market. Katherine S.
Newman. In the early 1990s, Katherine Newman came to know several fast-food restaurant employees
who lived “in segregated black neighborhoods in Harlem and in equally impoverished Puerto Rican and
Dominican enclaves of Washington Heights.” A decade later, in Chutes and Ladders, she catches up with
several of these employees to see how they are faring. In this excerpt, you’ll meet Kyesha, a janitor for
the New York City Housing Authority. Pay attention to how her education affects her employment
opportunities. Look for connections between this excerpt, The New Jim Crow, and Why are All of the
Black Kids Sitting Together. And, finally, consider the strength and resourcefulness of Kyesha and her
family. Note: Two more stories from this book are included in the optional readings below. (17 Pages, 30
minutes)

Choose Your Path (3 hours)
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
“Introduction.” Racial Inequity in Special Education. Daniel J. Losen and Gary Orfield. Black children,
especially males, are more likely to be labeled mentally retarded than their white peers. Among high
school youth with disabilities, about 75 percent of African American students, as compared to 47
percent of white students, are not employed two years out of school. Three to five years out of school
the arrest rate for African Americans with disabilities is 40 percent, as compared to 27 percent for
Whites.
“One and Done.” The Chicago Reporter. Angela Caputo. The Chicago Housing Authority has a one-
strike policy which has lead public housing tenants to lose their homes over nonviolent offenses, like
shoplifting and marijuana possession. Learn more about the Windy City’s public housing policies and
how gentrifying neighborhoods are influencing the lives of residents like Jessica Moore.
“The Roots Of Record Foreclosures” Tell Me More. NPR. (12:29). Home ownership is now at it lowest
rate since the Great Depression, and the gap in home ownership between blacks and whites is at its
widest since 1960. Michel Martin, host of Tell Me More, digs into the historic causes of the foreclosure
crisis and their disproportionate impact on people of color.
The Corner. Need to Know. PBS. (video) 7:14. Author, journalist, and writer/director of The Wire David
Simon heads to Baltimore's inner city to talk to young men with little or no work who often simply hang
out on the street.
“Tackling Infant Mortality Rates Among Blacks.” New York Times. Timothy Williams. October 4, 2011.
“Black women with graduate degrees,” according to this article, “are more likely to lose a child in its first
year than are white women who did not finish high school.” Learn more about why, in Pittsburgh, black
babies are more than five times as likely as white babies to die before they turn one.
“AIDS in Black America: The World’s 16th Worst Epidemic.” FRONTLINE. Sarah Moughty. December 1,
2011. “When you look at the AIDS epidemic in black America and you think about black America as if it
was a country unto itself, it would have the 16th worst AIDS epidemic in the world,” Black AIDS Institute
CEO Phill Wilson told FRONTLINE. “If Black America were a country unto itself it would be eligible for
PREFAR dollars,” Wilson continued, referring to the $15 billion program begun in 2003 under President
George W. Bush to fund prevention and treatment in 15 countries, mostly in Africa.
“Living with HIV in Mississippi.” Human Rights Watch. (3:44) In Mississippi, half of all people with HIV
do not receive care or support services. That’s on par with rates in Botswana, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. This
short video gives you a window into their struggles.
“Lives, in the Long Run.” Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low-Wage Labor Market. Katherine S.
Newman. In this excerpt of Chutes and Ladders, Newman reconnects with Jamal, a former fast food
employee who has found work in a tiny, rural, California town. His story has plenty of surprises and
illuminates education’s effect on people’s ability to secure the employment that they want.

ASIAN-AMERICAN
“The Creation—and Consequences—of the Model Minority Myth.” Colorlines.com. Julianne Hing. July
6, 2011. While Asian Americans as a group record high levels of educational attainment that match and
occasionally surpass that of whites, large sectors actually deal with high dropout rates from high school
and college. Asian Americans are not a monolithic group and the experiences of Hmong, Laotian and
Cambodian Asian Americans differ greatly from that of, say, East and South Asians growing up in the U.S.
“Press Release for ‘Working But Poor’ Study”: The Asian American Federation. October, 2008. This
press-release summarizes the major findings and policy considerations of a US Census-based report,
regarding Asian Americans in New York City. At the time this study came out, many were shocked to
read that Asian Americans had one of the highest poverty rates of any race or ethnic groups in the city.
(Click here for the full study)
“Tackling Asian American Health Disparities.” National Public Radio. May 24, 2010. (7:29). A recent
issue of the American Journal of Public Health found striking disparities between certain groups of Asian
Americans and non-Asians. Kathy Lim Ko, director of The Asian and Pacific Islander Health Care Forum,
joins Allison Keyes on Tell Me More for a conversation about why these health gaps exist, and how they
can be bridged.
HISPANIC OR LATINO
“Latinos Lead Nation in Childhood Poverty.” Tell Me More. National Public Radio. (6:57) For the first
time in history, whites no longer make up the single largest group of poor children in America. A new
report from the Pew Hispanic Center shows that more than six million Hispanic children live in poverty.
Tony Cox speaks with Mark Lopez, co-author of the report and the associate director of the Pew
Hispanic Center, about what that means for the future of the Latino community and the nation.
“The Crisis and the Context.” The Latino Education Crisis: The Consequences of Failed Social Policies.
Patricia Gandara and Frances Contreras. “At a time when college has become the new critical threshold
for entry into the middle class,” the authors write, “the overwhelming majority of Latinos do not attend
degree-granting colleges—and those who do attend often don’t graduate.” This chapter of Crisis should
be required reading for anyone wanting to understand the scope and causes of educational injustice for
America’s Latino youth.
“In New York, Mexicans Lag in Education” New York Times. Kirk Semple. November 24, 2011. “About
41 percent of all Mexicans between ages 16 and 19 in [New York City] have dropped out of school,
according to census data. No other major immigrant group has a dropout rate higher than 20 percent,
and the overall rate for the city is less than 9 percent, the statistics show.”
“Act Four: Just One Thing Missing.” This American Life. National Public Radio. (10:00). Reporter
Douglas McGray interviews a college student in California with good grades, an excellent work ethic, but
no possible way to get a legal job. She's lived in the U.S. since she was little, but her parents are
undocumented; and she is, too. Most of her friends and teachers don't even know.

“Mississippi State Senate Passes Anti-Immigration Law.” Colorlines. Julianne Hing. Mississippi’s SB2179
makes it a state crime to be caught without immigration papers and allows law enforcement to arrest,
“without warrant,” a person “reasonably believed” to be in the country without papers. Learn more
about this bill, consider its impact on students and their families, and after you have, feel free to
investigate other similar laws, like Arizona’s SB 1070 and Alabama’s HB56.
“The Spam Factory's Dirty Secret.” Ted Genoways. July/August 2011 Issue. Mother Jones. The Quality
Pork Processors (QPP) workforce is mostly Hispanic with a smattering of Somalis and African Americans.
Rumors circulated that QPP recruited laborers in Mexico. The company’s demand for profits led workers
on the pig processing line to become sick at startling rates. This article chronicles the struggles of
laborers to defend their rights and touches on issues of immigration and corporate greed.
Fingers to the Bone: Child Farmworkers in the United States (5:42). In this short video, Zama Coursen-
Neff explains, “U.S. law allows children to work in agriculture at far younger ages for unlimited hours
outside of school in much more dangerous conditions than any other sector. So, a child can work
perfectly legally for any farmer at age 12. That child couldn’t work serving the food that he can work 10,
12, 14 hours picking.” Fingers to the Bone will introduce you to some of these children.
“Chapter 1: Latinos and the U.S. Justice System: A Stark Reality.” Lost Opportunities: The Reality of
Latinos in the U.S. Criminal Justice System. National Council of La Raza. While individuals in the United
States collectively have one chance in 23 of bring confined in prison during their lifetime, Hispanics have
one chance in six of being confined in prison during their lifetime. This chapter is a worthwhile
companion to the excerpt of The New Jim Crow that you read earlier. While some of its contents are a
bit outdated (studies about TV shows from the 1980s and 1990s are referenced), this article provides
helpful information about the unequal incarceration of Latinos in our country.
“Major Health Problems Linked to Poverty.” Emily Ramshaw. New York Times. At last count, nearly
45,000 people lived in the 350 Texas colonias, impoverished communities found along the Mexican
border. Because they have no running water, no wastewater treatment, no paved roads or solid waste
disposal, water- and mosquito-borne illnesses are rampant. And residents’ poor diets contribute to
dental problems, diabetes and other chronic conditions. Residents rarely have the health insurance,
money or access to regular health care to treat these conditions.
“The Story of Carmen and Sal.” Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low-Wage Labor Market.
Katherine S. Newman. In this excerpt of Chutes and Ladders, Newman profiles Carmen and Sal, two
more former fast food workers, as they deal with parenthood, money woes, and the prospect of
moving. Their story, set in New York, is one of incredible perseverance and also serious setbacks.
NATIVE AMERICAN
“Introduction” (page 13-26). The State Of The Native Nations: Conditions Under U.S. Policies Of Self-
Determination. The Harvard Project On American Indian Economic Development. As of 2000, the real
(i.e., inflation adjusted) median household income of Native Americans on reservations and in Indian
areas of the lower 48 states was only 58% of the average American median household income – $24,239
versus $41,994. The death rate from diabetes is two times greater for on-reservation Indians than for
the U.S. population as a whole. The percentage of Indian adults with college degrees is rising, but is still
less than half that of the U.S.-wide percentage. This excellent chapter gives an overview of the current
reality for Native Americans and profiles the drive for Indian self-determination throughout history.

“Native Hawaiians” (page 333-343). The State Of The Native Nations: Conditions Under U.S. Policies Of
Self-Determination. The Harvard Project On American Indian Economic Development. As is the case for
American Indians in the United States, Native Hawaiians are on average disadvantaged relative to most
other population groups in Hawai’i in measures of socio-economic status, health, and housing. This
disadvantage, however, is not as large as that experienced by American Indians. And, while Native
Hawaiians are statistically over-represented at the lower end of the income and education distributions,
they are also comparatively well represented at the higher end of the socioeconomic continuum within
the State of Hawai’i.
“Education” (page 197-212). The State Of The Native Nations: Conditions Under U.S. Policies Of Self-
Determination. The Harvard Project On American Indian Economic Development. “As in so many other
dimensions, the histories of oppression, disempowerment, and poverty have left their legacies in Native
education attainment and performance.” This chapter provides an overview of the history (and
contemporary state) of Native American education. It describes the former aims of schools (“educating
the ‘savage’”), how self-determination has influenced the curriculum, No Child Left Behind’s influence,
culturally relevant instruction, and the role of television in Native education. It also describes the role of
Native poverty in educational attainment and the state of underfunding in Native colleges.
“Hope on the Rez.” The American Indian College Fund. (6.55). “This is my community. This is my world.
This is my life. These are my people.” This video profiles several American Indian students attending
tribal colleges and universities. Many of the subjects of this short documentary speak to the challenges
facing Native communities today as well as the profound impact that tribal colleges have had on their
development as people.
“Introduction.” Racial Inequity in Special Education. Daniel J. Losen and Gary Orfield. Native American
children, especially males, are more likely to be labeled mentally retarded than their white peers.
Among high school youth with disabilities, about 75 percent of African American students, as compared
to 47 percent of white students, are not employed two years out of school. Three to five years out of
school the arrest rate for African Americans with disabilities is 40 percent, as compared to 27 percent
for Whites.
American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many. Charla Bear. Morning Edition. National Public Radio.
(7:45). For the government, it was a possible solution to the so-called Indian problem. For the tens of
thousands of Indians who went to boarding schools, it's largely remembered as a time of abuse and
desecration of culture. The government still operates a handful of off-reservation boarding schools, but
funding is in decline. Now many American Indians are fighting to keep the schools open.
American Indian School a Far Cry from the Past. Charla Bear. Morning Edition. National Public Radio.
(7:46). These days, most American Indian children go to public schools. But remnants still exist of the
boarding-school system the federal government set up for Indian children in the late 1800s. Some
people, such as U.S. officials at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, question whether the government should
continue to be in the boarding-school business. Many students at these schools say they are a necessary
escape from the poverty and addiction that plague many reservations.
Native Education 101: Basic Facts about American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian
Education. National Indian Education Association. This concise pamphlet provides a series of

introductory statistics about the state of Native communities and outlines important “Native
Organizations to Know.”
Unnatural Causes…is inequality making us sick? (video one, video two, video three, video four) “Does
a pharmaceutical company or a biotechnology company have an interest in investing in primary
prevention? Well, of course not. Those industries depend on people being diagnosed with diseases like
diabetes in order to survive. In corporate America, profits drive decision making…If we became very
successful at preventing diabetes in this country, there are companies that would go out of business.”
This series of four, short videos provides an overview of health disparities, with a focus on Native
communities. It contains interesting fodder about drug companies, diabetes, and culturally relevant
care.
“Health” (page 217-232). The State Of The Native Nations: Conditions Under U.S. Policies Of Self-
Determination. The Harvard Project On American Indian Economic Development. “While a number of
indicators of the health of American Indians and Alaska Natives have improved over the last several
decades, measures of personal health and access to public health infrastructure are discouraging when
compared to the general U.S. population. In certain areas – suicide, alcoholism, diabetes – the negative
health indicators for Native Americans are extreme.” This chapter describes some of the health
disparities in Native Communities and the work of the Indian Health Service.
WHITE1
Digging for a Living.(13:12). This video highlights the changing landscape of the coal industry and
showcases how the lack of job security for Kentucky coal workers affects their financial and
psychological well-being.
Struggling to Survive. (17:58). This video explores how the minimum wage affects the day-to-day
choices and lives of Letcher County, Kentucky residents. It shows the impact that making $5.15 an hour
has on people's choices about food, clothing, transportation, health care, and education.
Without a Cause (15:54) investigates the unexplained and unusually high incidence of serious illness
within the small and seemingly peaceful mountain community of Eolia, Kentucky. Residents speak about
what it’s like to have a sickness no one can name and assert that these diseases are rooted in
environmental pollution.
Willa Johnson (2:12) tells her story about being an educated, young woman without the information,
encouragement, and support to take charge of her reproductive healthcare.
1
This section provides an overview of poverty in Appalachia. Although you may find yourself teaching
white students in a different part of the country, the obstacles they face will likely bear similarities to the
individuals profiled in these stories.

PART II: CAGE FIGHTERS (1.5 HOURS)
Introduction
In Part I, we enhanced our understanding of how poverty affects people’s health, education, housing,
and ability to defend their legal rights. We also explored some of the ways that racism restricts the
opportunities of America’s people of color. As Michelle Alexander wrote in The New Jim Crow:
Academics have developed complicated theories and obscure jargon in an effort to

describe what is now referred to as structural racism, yet the concept is fairly
straightforward. One theorist, Iris Marion Young, relying on a famous “birdcage”
metaphor, explains it this way: If one thinks about racism by examining only one wire of
the cage, or one form of disadvantage, it is difficult to understand how and why the bird
is trapped. Only a large number of wires arranged in a specific way, and connected with
one another, serve to enclose the bird and ensure it cannot escape.
What is particularly important to keep in mind is that any given wire of the cage may or
may not be specifically developed for the purpose of trapping the bird, yet it still
operates (together with other wires) to restrict its freedom.
Think about just some of the wires that you encountered in Part I: our unequal funding of public schools
where students of color make up the majority of the school population, our federally-funded boarding
schools that aimed to strip Native Americans of their culture, our restriction of undocumented Latino
children’s access to college, our government’s history of discriminatory home lending policies, our
lopsided enforcement of drug policies in communities of color, our failure to address the
disproportionately high HIV infection rates for African-Americans and the lopsided diabetes death rates
in Native American communities.
The list of issues goes on and on, and their interconnection is staggering. The strength of the cage can
seem overwhelming. But, as Alexander writes, “every birdcage has a door, and every birdcage can be
broken and can corrode.”
In this section, you will have a chance to meet leaders in different sectors and communities who are
fighting to clip one or more of the birdcage’s wires. While education leaders are not profiled here, we
will meet several of them in Part III. Use your interests to guide which change-makers and artifacts you
explore. Take an hour and a half to be inspired by their innovative ideas and the way they use bold
visions and relationships to snap wires that can sometimes seem unbreakable.
Guiding Questions for Part II
 How, if at all, do these leaders’ personal histories, their interests, their faith, and their racial,
ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds influence their work and their leadership?
 Are there common threads that you noticed in these leaders’ approaches and actions?
 What questions and feelings arose as you looked at the materials in Part II?

Meet the Fighters
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Majora Carter. (18:33) Majora Carter redefined the field of environmental equality, starting in the
South Bronx at the turn of the century. Now she is leading the local economic development movement
across the USA. In an emotionally charged talk, the MacArthur-winning activist details her fight for
environmental justice and shows how minority neighborhoods suffer most from flawed urban policy.
Henry Red Cloud. Henry Red Cloud directs the work of Lakota Solar Enterprises, his American Indian-
owned and operated business dedicated to providing renewable energy to some of the poorest
communities in the United States.
Will Allen. Allen, another MacArthur fellow, is the founder and CEO of Growing Power. Its two acres of
greenhouses grow food fertilized with worm compost and with fish waste on the outskirts of
Milwaukee, in a part of town without full-service grocery stores. Providing fresh food in an urban food
desert is a big part of what Growing Power does. But, it is also involved in more than 70 projects and
outreach programs across the country and around the world. You can read about Allen here, watch a
short video (2:27) about his work, and explore his organization’s website.
Eboni Cochran. Across the country, polluting industries are concentrated in communities where the
poor and people of color live. Eboni Cochran and her neighbors in Louisville have organized to demand
that chemical companies in their area do a better job of monitoring and containing hazardous materials
that seep into the soil and air. Learn about her efforts in this video excerpt of Unnatural Causes.
HEALTH DISPARITIES
Rebecca Onie. With Barry Zuckerman, Rebecca Onie founded Health Leads (formerly Project Health) to
recruit and train college students to provide patients with connections to resources deemed necessary
by doctors and other health care providers. “What are college students built to do?” asks Onie. “Track
down information!” She adds: “Say your client is a Latina mother working two jobs. She needs food
supplements. She has no transportation. Your job is to locate a food pantry within walking distance of
her home that’s open after 8:00 p.m. and has a Spanish speaker on staff. That’s a perfect problem for a
college student. It’s like a really fancy Google search.”
Dr. Jeffrey Brenner. (12:59) Dr. Jeffrey Brenner is a local physician who some believe might have the
model to solve one of America's most intractable problems: lowering the cost of health care. While
analyzing medical billing data in Camden, N.J., he mapped out "hot spots" of the impoverished city's
high-cost patients. By targeting unique care – including home visits and social workers – at the city's
most costly patients, he developed a program that he argues has both lowered health care costs and
provided better care in Camden. This video showcases his work.
Dr. Carnell Cooper. Since 1998, Dr. Carnell Cooper, an associate professor of surgery at the University of
Maryland in Baltimore, has led a hospital-based violence intervention program that has helped more
than 1,500 victims of violent crime and their families. In a country where violence remains a major
public health issue and homicide remains the 15th leading cause of death and the leading cause of death

among African-American males ages 15 to 34, the work of Dr. Cooper and his colleagues has resulted in
an 83 percent decrease among participants in repeat hospitalizations for violent injuries, a 75 percent
reduction in criminal activity and an 82 percent increase in employment.
Juliana Ko. Juliana Ko (New Mexico ’08) was at the start of her second year of teaching at Thoreau
Middle School on the Navajo reservation when one of her students, a 13-year-old boy, killed himself. His
death “shook my world,” Ko says. Forgoing her plans to return to her family and boyfriend in Florida, Ko
stayed in Thoreau and founded a community center. Through partnerships with organizations such as
the National Indian Youth Leadership Project, the Boys & Girls Club of the Diné Nation, and New Mexico
State University’s cooperative tribal extension, the center offers art, sports, after-school tutoring, movie
nights, mental-health counseling, life skills training, and traditional crafts like Native weaving.
Sister Manette Durand (16:26). Sister Manette Durand, a white Catholic nun, runs the only health clinic
in rural Jonestown, Mississippi. The residents of Jonestown, a largely African American town in the heart
of the Delta, struggle to obtain basic medical care. Many are touched by diabetes and heart disease, yet
few have the resources to visit a doctor regularly. This documentary follows Sister Manette through her
daily challenge of providing the only health care services in Jonestown.
EMPLOYMENT
Father Gregory Boyle. In 1992, as a response to the civil unrest in Los Angeles, Father Greg Boyle
launched Homeboy Bakery, with a mission to create an environment that provided training, work
experience, and above all, the opportunity for rival gang members to work side by side. The success of
his bakery created the groundwork for additional businesses. Today, Homeboy Industries’ nonprofit
economic development enterprises include Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy/Homegirl
Merchandise, and Homegirl Café. You can see videos about a Father Boyle’s work here (2:01) and here
(6:19), listen to an interview he gave on NPR (30:18), or explore his organization’s website.
Brenda Palms Barber. (50:59). Brenda Palms Barber wasn’t always drawn to beekeeping. But her quest
to find work for residents of Chicago’s economically disadvantaged North Lawndale neighborhood —
where some 50 percent of adults have been in the criminal justice system — led her to start Sweet
Beginnings, a transitional jobs program for formerly incarcerated individuals and others with significant
barriers to employment. Listen to a podcast about Barber here.
IMMIGRATION ISSUES & WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Lucas Benitez. Benitez, who arrived in Florida at age 16 from Guerrero, Mexico, helped found the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in 1993. CIW has since grown to 4,000 members. Its
work encompasses advocating for better working conditions and wages for the fieldworkers of
Immokalee, Fla., and elsewhere, fighting against modern-day slavery, and working to bring justice to the
American food system.
Fernanda Marroquin. One of the leaders of DreamActivist PA, Fernanda was recently arrested during a
protest at the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. She was there taking a stand against the state’s
recent immigration laws (HB56) and demanding full human rights for all people living in Alabama. She is

one of the youngest leaders on this list and easily one of the most inspiring. Don’t miss this three-minute
video that showcases Marroquin’s quest and her courage.
Baldemar Velasquez (11:47). Growing up in a family of migrant farm workers, Baldemar Velásquez
spent his childhood in the fields, planting, weeding, and harvesting crops like sugar beets and berries. He
has spent his career organizing farm workers to have a greater voice in the conditions that affect their
lives. At the age of 20, Baldemar co-founded the Farm Labor Organizing [FLOC]. He is now its president
and a leader in the farm labor and immigrants rights movements. Majora Carter talks with Velasquez
about the pivotal moments in his life where he realized he had to lead.
RURAL ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
Emily Pilloton (16:44). Emily Pilloton wrote Design Revolution, a book about 100-plus objects and
systems designed to make people's lives better. In 2010, her design nonprofit began an immersive
residency in Bertie County, North Carolina, the poorest and most rural county in the state. She's
teaching a high school design-build class called Studio H there. Her class is engaging students' minds and
bringing design solutions to a place that is typically ignored by people in Pilloton’s field.

PART III: THE LATCH-BREAKERS (1.5 HOURS)
Introduction
Each leader you met in the previous section is working to dismantle one wire of the “birdcage” that
Michelle Alexander described. Their battles against their communities’ environmental issues, health
disparities, and joblessness, when waged concurrently, increase the likelihood that people of color—
especially those living in low-income communities—will have the same quality of life as their wealthier,
white peers. These leaders’ battles are critical to our children’s success, and we need more people in
America fighting alongside of them.
It’s worth noting, however, that the birdcage has one particularly vulnerable component: the latch
immobilizing its door.
Imagine, for a moment, that this latch is education. Even when the other bars of the cage weaken, an
inadequate education can inhibit our students’ access to opportunities and thwart their ability to break
out of the “subordinate political, social, and economic position” that Michelle Alexander writes about.
On the other hand, if we subvert this latch—by providing our kids with the ability and opportunity to
pass Advanced Placement exams and compete for full college scholarships—they can rise above the
inadequate housing, health issues, and other barriers of poverty and racism that often restrict their
mobility.
Well-educated, they become the next generation of “cage fighters” – an army of doctors, lawyers,
teachers, and advocates that take on their communities’ greatest challenges.
You may recall, from our pre-work’s introduction, Jeremy Beard’s closing remarks from Teach For
America’s 20th Anniversary Summit. “Choose to be great,” he told the crowd, “so our children can truly
be free.”
Beard knows something about creating educational outcomes that are liberating for students. In a South
Texas community where half of students do not typically get a high school diploma, where 1 in 20
students graduates from high school ready for college level work, where only 10% of adults over 25 have
a college degree, 100% of the first three graduating classes of Beards’ IDEA College Preparatory
Academy went to college. IDEA was ranked as the #1 Top Performing High School in the Rio Grande
Valley, the #3 high school in Texas, and the #13 public high school in the United States overall, according
to U.S. News and World Report. It was also the only predominately Hispanic, predominately low-income
school to make the magazine’s list.
This section provides you with a chance to meet other latch-breakers, like Jeremy Beard—leaders who
have worked together with students, families, and communities to create opportunities for kids that
defy our society's expectations. Take about an hour and a half to explore and be inspired by them now.

Guiding Questions for Part III:
 What do these leaders’ experiences tell you about what it takes to have a life-changing impact
on students? In what ways are their approaches and actions similar?
 How, if at all, do these leaders’ personal histories, interests, their faith, and their racial, ethnic,
and socioeconomic backgrounds influence their work and their leadership?
 What questions and feelings arose as you looked at the materials in Part III?
Schools and Organizations

Harlem Children’s Zone. (32:00) Under the visionary leadership of its President and CEO, Geoffrey
Canada, the Harlem Children’s Zone continues to offer innovative, efficiently run programs that are
aimed at doing nothing less than breaking the cycle of generational poverty for the thousands of
children and families it serves. You read about Canada briefly in Paul Tough’s book, and this radio piece
from This American Life (Act One: Harlem Renaissiance) highlight’s Canada’s efforts.
Jeff Duncan-Andrade. (13:30) Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Ph.D. (Bay Area, ’93), is an Associate Professor of
Raza Studies and Education Administration and Interdisciplinary Studies. In addition to these duties, he
continues as a high school teacher in East Oakland where for the past 18 years he has practiced and
studied the use of critical pedagogy in urban schools. 92% of graduating seniors at the school where he
teaches attend four-year colleges. If, after watching this talk, you want to learn more about Jeff Duncan-
Andrade and his organization, please click here.
The SEED School. (13:20) SEED schools are high-performing, college-preparatory public boarding schools
that serve students from traditionally underserved communities. The SEED Foundation has opened and
operates one school in Washington, D.C. and one in Maryland. 91 percent of SEED students who enter
the ninth grade graduate from high school and 94 percent of SEED graduates from 2004-2011 have been
accepted to four-year colleges and universities.
Dr. William W. Henderson (10:33) The Dr. William W. Henderson Inclusion School (formerly the Patrick
O’Hearn School) is a small, nationally recognized Boston elementary school serving children from early
childhood through Grade 5. Its students are from diverse ethnic, linguistic, and ability backgrounds, and
students who have disabilities learn in general education classrooms with their nondisabled peers. In
this interview, the school’s former principal, Bill Henderson, talks about himself, his school, and his
book, The Blind Advantage: How Going Blind Made Me a Stronger Principal and How Including Children
with Disabilities Made Our School Better for Everyone.
KIPP Gaston College Preparatory School (7:33) Every day, KIPP students across the nation are proving
that demographics do not define destiny. Over 85 percent of the charter network’s students are from
low-income families and eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meals program, and 95 percent
are African American or Latino. Nationally, more than 95 percent of KIPP middle school students have
graduated high school, and more than 85 percent of KIPP alumni have gone on to college. This inspiring
video highlights college signing day for the first graduating class of KIPP Gaston, located in Gaston, NC.
“Transformational Teaching as the Foundation for Transformational Change.” A Chance to Make

History. Wendy Kopp with Steven Farr. (177-202 in the book, begins on page 39 of the PDF) In this

chapter, Wendy Kopp profiles several Teach For America alumni who are helping to reform some of this
country’s lowest-performing school districts. In this excerpt, you’ll meet school and district leaders who
have created learning environments that enable kids, with tremendous odds stacked against them, to
achieve incredible academic successes. The full book will be shipped to you in the spring, in case you are
interested in reading more of this text.

PART IV: TEACHING AS LEADERSHIP (7.5 HOURS)
Introduction
Jeremy Beard, Geoffrey Canada, and Jeff Duncan-Andrade are just a few of the latch-breakers who have
used education to force open the doors to opportunities for our students. By ensuring their children
could clear the academic bar typically held for wealthy kids and had the personal confidence and
conviction to pursue their dreams, these leaders unleashed a cascade of previously unavailable choices
for their students—choices about where to go to college, what to do professionally, where to live,
where to invest their money, where and when to get medical care, and where to send their future
children to school. As a result of these opportunities, they’ll have the power to return to their
communities and stoke change there or in the country at large, becoming the next generation of “cage
fighters.”
While these leaders and their accomplishments are inspiring, joining their ranks can feel intimidating.
Teaching anywhere is incredibly difficult. And, teaching in low-income communities adds additional
layers of challenge that test even the most experienced educators.
So what is the best way to approach the task of teaching students who, in addition to facing the usual
challenges of growing up, often experience an additional set of poverty-related impediments to their
success?
We believe something called Teaching As Leadership offers a blueprint for success. This approach, which
is based on twenty years of research, is based on the leadership principles and underlying beliefs and
values of our most successful teachers.
In this section, you will learn more about Teaching As Leadership and connect it to your past leadership
experience and your new role as a teacher. The knowledge you build here will prepare you for your
classroom observations and, even more importantly, serve as the foundation for your development as a
teacher.
Each section of this pre-work is centered on one or more of the guiding questions below. We
recommend that you keep track of your reflections on these questions as you engage with the
associated readings and materials in whatever way works best for you. If helpful, we have provided an
optional note taking guide.
Guiding Questions
 How is Teaching As Leadership similar to and different from the picture of successful teaching
that’s currently in your mind?
 What evidence do we see when students emerge from a classroom on a path of expanded
opportunities?
 What aspects of Teaching As Leadership match your strengths, values, ways of operating, and
previous leadership experiences - including the severity of the challenges you faced in those
experiences? What aspects don’t match?
 How does it make you feel to know how challenging your new leadership role could be?

 To what degree do you agree that Teaching As Leadership is our “best bet” for ending
educational inequity?
1. HOW IS TEACHING AS LEADERSHIP SIMILAR TO AND DIFFERENT FROM THE PICTURE OF

SUCCESSFUL TEACHING THAT’S CURRENTLY IN YOUR MIND? (4 HOURS)
It’s often the case that new teachers strive to teach like the teachers who made a positive impact on
them. They can be valuable models that inform your practice but it is important that you consider this
question: Given your understanding of the causes and scope of academic inequity, will what worked for
you when you were a student also meet your students’ needs? If you don’t have an image of a
successful teacher in mind, you may find it helpful to pause and reflect on a teacher or two who made a
positive impact on you and what they did that met your needs.
The readings and videos that follow illuminate what our Teaching As Leadership paradigm is and why we
believe it is so essential to succeeding in our context.
A Chance To Make History: Chapter 1: Teaching As Leadership (beginning on p. 13 of the PDF)

This chapter from Wendy Kopp’s most recent book recounts the origins of Teaching As Leadership and
illustrates the approach through descriptions of teachers who embodied it while they were corps
members. (25 pages, 45 minutes)
Note: This book will be shipped to you in the spring, in case you are interested in reading more.
Realizing the Potential of TAL

In this overview, you’ll learn more about Teaching As Leadership. (13 pages, 25 minutes)
Mindsets of Teacher Leaders (NOTE: Please log-in to TFANet first)

Teachers in this video elucidate the beliefs and mindsets that drive their teaching. (13 minutes)
Teaching As Leadership - Chapter 2: Invest Students and Their Families (beginning on p. 38 of the PDF)
While “Realizing the Potential of TAL” introduced you to the broad contours of the Teaching As
Leadership paradigm, the Teaching As Leadership book by Steven Farr goes into much greater depth.
Because building student and family investment is particularly challenging for many of our teachers and
vital for our students’ success, please read this chapter to deepen understanding of why it’s essential
and how to begin to make it happen. (50 pages, 90 minutes)
Note: This book will be shipped to you in the spring, in case you are interested in reading more.
Optional: Teaching As Leadership: Miss Lora’s Story

This narrative illuminates one CM’s development as an elementary teacher in Houston over a four-year
time span. (104 pages, 4+ hours)
2. WHAT EVIDENCE DO WE SEE WHEN STUDENTS EMERGE FROM A CLASSROOM ON A PATH

OF EXPANDED OPPORTUNITIES? (1.5 HOURS)
Teaching As Leadership is a theory - one that we are continuously evolving based on new evidence and
analysis. What does it look like in the classroom?

To find out, we’re going to meet three 2009 corps members:
 Julia King: Grade 4, Gary, Indiana (9 minutes)

 Maurice Thomas: Grade 11 Social Studies, Atlanta, Georgia (10 minutes)
 Meg Stewart: Grade 7 Special Education, Oakland, California (10 minutes)
Julia, Maurice, and Meg were recognized for bringing about dramatic results in their classrooms as corps
members. You’ll observe video clips of their teaching, tours of their classrooms and student interviews.
While you watch, search for evidence of the impact they’re making on their students’ lives. Stay attuned
to their specific actions and the ways in which they embody Teaching As Leadership principles. Please
consider the four guiding questions from the TAL Impact Model to guide your observation of these
teachers.
3. WHICH ASPECTS OF TEACHING AS LEADERSHIP MATCH YOUR STRENGTHS, VALUES, WAYS

OF OPERATING, AND PREVIOUS LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCES - INCLUDING THE SEVERITY OF THE
CHALLENGES YOU FACED? WHICH ASPECTS DON’T MATCH? HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL TO
KNOW HOW CHALLENGING YOUR NEW ROLE COULD BE? (1.5 HOURS)
From a 2010 corps member’s blog:

Why don’t we ever see any exemplars before they’re exemplary? Why can’t we ever see
anyone on their way to being good? Why are people under the impression that it helps us
to see classrooms and teachers that are miles away from where we are? It only frustrates
us further and makes us vulnerable to making excuses (“But he’s in a charter school”/”But
he was teaching social studies, not math”/”but his kids are so much younger”).
I’m not saying I want to copy verbatim every little thing a good teacher does. But
seriously—am I the only one who sees value in watching people who aren’t perfect? Yet?
We empathize with the frustration expressed in this statement. Julia, Maurice and Meg were not
transformational teachers when they first started teaching. The videos you watched earlier captured
them mid-way through their second year. During their first few months, they faced similar challenges to
the ones you will face and had their moments of serious doubt along the way. Sadly we don’t have any
footage from that time, but we are currently on a quest to capture footage of corps members “on their
way to being good.” Meanwhile we can still gain insight into how these three teachers became so
successful, ultimately helping their students make dramatic academic progress and develop traits and
skills that hopefully will endure over their lives.
In this section, you’ll learn about their previous leadership experiences and what these experiences
revealed about their strengths. They’ll share their reflections on the challenges they faced when they
transitioned to their new roles as teachers, how they faced these challenges and what this taught them
about their leadership. You’ll also read an alumna’s reflection on just how hard it was for her during her
first year in the classroom.
These videotaped stories and one reading will inform reflections about your own previous leadership
experience, how you operated as a leader in that particular context, and what you can continue to
leverage as you head into your classrooms and face new challenges. To spark your reflections, we

encourage you to reach out to those who know you well to learn what they think are your unique
leadership strengths.
Julia, Maurice and Meg Reflect on Their Leadership

In this video, the three teachers you met previously describe their leadership roles prior to joining Teach
For America and reflect on how they developed their leadership in the face of challenge during their first
two years in the classroom. (20 minutes)
Leadership Role Comparison

This one-page document frames a comparison between a college-setting leadership role and teaching in
a classroom. (1 page, 5 minutes)
250 Minutes
This document describes just how hard your first year can be and helps answer the question: Why do I
stay? (2 pages, 5 minutes)
Identify Your Leadership Strengths

Take 15-25 minutes to contact several people who know you well and ask each to share their thoughts
on your strengths as an effective leader or tell a story about you that exemplifies your strengths.
Consider a family member, friend or roommate, someone you’ve led. Reflect: How have you
productively taken on challenges in the past?
4. TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU AGREE THAT TEACHING AS LEADERSHIP IS OUR “BEST BET” FOR
ENDING EDUCATIONAL INEQUITY? (0.5 HOURS)
Now that you have explored our Teaching As Leadership approach, before you move on with your Pre-
work, take a few moments to reflect on what you learned and the implications it has on your beliefs
about the classroom leadership role that you have chosen.
You may also want to consider:
 What questions do you have about our Teaching As Leadership approach?

 What about this approach to teaching resonates with you?
 What about this approach feels off, problematic or concerning?
 Which parts of this approach are you withholding judgment about until you learn more?

PART V: REFLECTING ON PERSONAL IDENTITY (8.5 HOURS)
Introduction
It can be tempting to reduce corps members like Julia King, Maurice Thomas and Meg Stewart to a
series of checks on some imaginary, Teaching As Leadership scorecard. We can think, “Their classrooms
ticked a ‘set a big goal’ box, checked an ‘invest students’ box, and kapow!, students’ lives changed.”
While Teaching As Leadership provides the architecture for exceptional teaching, great educators’
actions are hardly formulaic. Our work is undeniably human. We are in the business of convincing kids to
believe in themselves, to work incredibly hard, and to trust us.
This is no small task. And, making it happen requires us to think about our own identities. How do our
families’ views about education shape our beliefs about our students’ families? How does our racial
identity affect how we’re perceived by others? How does it affect how we view ourselves?
It also begs us to develop deep relationships with our students and to examine their identities. What do
they believe about themselves and their potential? How has this been shaped by the messages in our
society about people who are like them? How can we influence those messages as teachers?
This portion of the pre-work will provide some space to reflect on issues like these and will allow you to:
 Reflect on how your race and class affected your upbringing and educational experiences
 Read about issues like racial identity development and consider how they will affect your role as
a classroom leader
 Hear fellow teachers and leaders share stories about how their identities have influenced their
work
Before we get started, it’s important to acknowledge that this section will focus primarily on two axes of
identity: race and class. Identities are undeniably complex and they encompass so much more than race
and class. Sexual orientation, gender, age, religion, political opinion, language, and ability are also
fundamental in shaping who we are. We’ve chosen to isolate these identity markers, however, because
our movement is fighting to end the educational inequity that is the result of explicit and implicit choices
to deny equitable opportunities to people of color and those in poverty.
However, we know that race and class are not the only axes of identity that can limit opportunities for
people. In particular, students and teachers who identify as LGBTQ can find it uniquely challenging to
have a school experience that is safe, inclusive, and equitable. To begin learning more about creating
classrooms where all of our students feel valued, affirmed, and respected, regardless of their sexual
orientation or gender identity/expression, you should consult this list of additional resources. It
provides some ideas about how to deal with LGBTQ issues in the classroom, particularly in low income
communities, and where LGBTQ teachers can find support.
It’s also worth recognizing that understanding who we are (and what that means) is a lifelong journey.
Regardless of where you are in this process, considering how race and class affect our work is a critical
component in bringing about equity and justice in our classrooms and in America.

The activities you’ll engage in below are intended to serve as fodder for answering the guiding
questions. As you go through these activities, new questions may emerge, and perspectives on these
questions can & should evolve over time.
Guiding Questions:
 How might my background and life experiences influence my perception of the assets and
deficits of my students, their families, and their communities? How might these factors affect
others’ perceptions of me?
 How can I affirm my students’ racial identities through each stage of their lives? Why is this so
important?
 How can I create a culturally relevant and actively antiracist classroom?
Activities:
1. YOUR EDUCATIONAL STORY: A REFLECTION (1 HOUR)
Our identities are shaped by many factors, but some of the most powerful experiences we have occur as
we develop from childhood through adolescence. This first activity is a chance for you to specifically
reflect on your own educational opportunities and how race and class impacted your upbringing.
In order to help you do this, we have put together a series of reflection questions that focus on these
specific topics.
Your reflections on these questions should help you consider how your experiences may affect your
perceptions of your students and their families as well as your colleagues. This activity will also help
prepare you for the final part of pre-work, where you will write your Story of Self. Please spend
whatever time you feel is necessary to meaningfully reflect.
After reading through these questions you may feel that talking to a loved one will allow you to delve
even deeper into your story or uncover a new aspect of your identity. If that is the case, use these
questions as a starting point to interview a family member or close family friend.
2. READ: Excerpts from psychologist’s Beverly Daniel Tatum’s Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting
Together in the Cafeteria? (3.5 HOURS TO READ CH 2-4, 6, & 8, AND REFLECT)
These selections from Tatum’s book will give you an overview of racial identity development throughout
childhood and adolescence.
This book provides an introduction to the role of race in identity development. As an African-American
woman, Tatum writes through the lens of her own experience and primarily juxtaposes black and white

racial identity development. However, Ch 8 provides an overview of issues in the identity development
of Latinos, American Indians and Asian Americans. In the introduction to this chapter, Tatum is the first
to acknowledge that “it is impossible in the space of one chapter to detail the complexities of the
identity process for each group.” However, her aim is to raise a few key issues in order to “interrupt the
frequent silence about the impact of racism on these communities of color.”
To help you process and personally apply all that you read in these chapters, choose the few questions
below that most resonate with you and do some personal reflection on your own racial identity
development. Although we have allotted time here for reflection, we recognize that some of you are
actively thinking about (and feeling) these questions every day, while for others this may be a new
experience.
 When were you first conscious of your racial identity? Where were you? What happened? How
did you feel?
 Did your parents talk to you about race and racism explicitly? If so, how? What implicit
messages did your parents send about your racial background and the racial background of
others?
 Did you experience bullying as a kid because of any part of your identity or physical appearance?
 Look back at the information you gathered about your own educational story. After reading
these chapters in Tatum’s book, what additional insights into your own educational experience
and personal upbringing did these chapters provide?
 What recent experiences have made you think about race and racism in America? Where and
how do you see that playing out in your own life or our nation at large?
 Did Tatum’s writing influence your thinking about how you will interact with your students? If
so, how?
3. VOICES FROM EDUCATIONAL AND OTHER LEADERS (1 HOUR TO READ AND REFLECT)
Many teachers, leaders, and alumni – regardless of whether or not they share a racial or class-based
similarity with their students and constituents – have found that having a deep level of self-awareness
about their identity has bolstered their effectiveness and increased their impact in their communities.
Below are a set of reflections from leaders and former corps members that help illustrate the power of
reflecting about who-we-are and how we are similar to and different from the people we’re working
alongside.
Please engage with these videos and materials and reflect on the questions that feel most relevant to
you.

Cory Booker: An Experience that Changed my World View. Newark Mayor Cory Booker describes an
experience that changed his view of the world as a Yale law student doing community organizing work.
(3 minutes)
Chimamanda Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how
she found her authentic cultural voice – and warns that if we hear only a single story about another
person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding (19 minutes).
Sharing Our Stories from Teach For America’s One Day magazine. Hear from these educational leaders
as they share their own personal reflections on how their identity and lines of similarity have shaped
their work. (10 pages, 20 minutes)
Four Voices from Teach For America’s Diversity text where former corps members Michelle, Dan,
Richard, and Camika reflect on identity and lines of difference. (3 pages, 5 minutes)
Reflection Questions:
 What in these stories felt similar to your own story? What felt different?
 Was there a particular story that resonated with you? Why or why not?
 What struck you about the way these individuals describe the way their particular race and/or
class impacted their own experiences? What struck you about the way that has particularly
motivated them in their work in their communities to affect change?
 How do all of these stories shed light on the power you have to shape the particular impact you
will have on children and others? How do these individuals inspire you to bring your story into
the classroom as a powerful force for equity?
4. SO HOW CAN YOU CREATE A CULTURALLY RELEVANT AND ACTIVELY ANTIRACIST CLASSROOM? (2.5
HOURS TO READ AND REFLECT)
In the narratives above, each educational leader shared how their own experiences based on their race
and/or class came to have a positive impact on their work to fight for educational justice both in the
classroom and beyond. This next section is designed to begin to help you think about how you will bring
your story into the classroom over the next two years and use it as a tool of empowerment for yourself,
and most importantly, the children and families you will serve.
To help you do this, we have put together a series of readings from education scholars whose work
specifically focuses on the intersection of race, class and education. You will see questions for you to
reflect on as you complete each of the readings. Please choose the questions and spend the time
needed to help you process each reading.
Reading 1:
Excerpt from Lisa Delpit’s Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. (26 pages, 40
minutes)

 As teachers, you have a huge role to play in disrupting the cycle of power Delpit describes.
What are some of the ways you can do this on a daily basis?
Reading 2:
Teachers in Transition: The Impact of Antiracist Professional Development on Classroom Practice
Lawrence and Tatum (16 pages, 20 minutes)
Tatum and Lawrence specifically define the term “antiracist action” and then go on to list and
describe several specific school-related antiracist actions.
 As you read through these actions, what strikes you as particularly challenging to do and
why? What do you feel particularly motivated to do and why?
 In your opinion, why is having and maintaining high expectations for children of color and
those in poverty seen as a particularly antiracist action?
Reading 3:
That’s Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Gloria Ladson-Billings (6
pages, 10 minutes)
 Ladson-Billings provides a few illustrative examples of culturally relevant teachers but there
are many ways to approach this that are authentic to you. What stood out to you as broader
characteristics that culturally relevant teachers have in common?
 Ladson-Billings makes the case that culturally relevant teaching is critical for students to
achieve academic excellence. To what degree does her thesis resonate with you? What does
it motivate you to want to do or learn more about?
5. OVERARCHING REFLECTION (0.5 HOURS)
Now that you have completed each of the activities, return to the guiding questions and use them to
capture what you are thinking based on all you experienced here. As you take on the identity of a
teacher and come to know, love, and advocate for your students, your answers to these questions will
continue to change and deepen in complexity.
OPTIONAL TEXTS AND FURTHER READINGS
There are a lot of resources available for further reading on the intersection between race, class and
educational equity. If you’d like to explore more, we’ve included a small sampling of those additional
readings below:
1. Teach For America’s Diversity, Community and Achievement Text: In past years, this text was central
to corps member prework. While we’ve included some elements of this text in pre-work, we’ve shifted
the focus of our core readings. Much of this text, however, still contains readings you might find
valuable.
 DCA Text
 DCA Additional Readings

2. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum. This text
contains 4 additional chapters not highlighted in the core readings of this pre-work. If you are compelled
to read more, you may want to consider purchasing the text.
3. Can We Talk about Race and other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation by Dr. Beverly
Daniel Tatum. Chapter 2 in particular, called Connecting the Dots, How Race in America’s Classrooms
Affects Achievement, builds very directly on the topics discussed in this section of pre-work. We do not
currently have permission to distribute this text, but encourage you to purchase it if you are interested.
4. Fall 2011/Edition XIII of the TFA Alumni magazine: One Day. The article “Sharing our Stories” that
you read above comes from this magazine. The entire magazine was devoted to exploring our ongoing
work on diversity and you can find more articles on this topic under the heading, “Changing the
Conversation.” You will receive a copy of this issue in the mail this spring if you are interested in reading
more.

PART VI: CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS (10 HOURS)
Introduction
Schools and teachers have the power to buoy students’ self-esteem or to send it plummeting.
In One Day, April Goble (D.C. Region, ’98) recalled how her first grade teacher “said I would never
amount to anything. I got really upset…I became really quiet at school…I didn’t really apply myself.”
Three years later, thankfully, another teacher’s intervention reversed this downward spiral. “Because of
her,” Goble wrote, “I felt different about school and myself and fourth grade.”
Beyond influencing students’ confidence, teachers have the ability to open their students’ access to
power. As Lisa Delpit explained, we can validate and highlight the beauty of our students’ “language and
cultural style” while also teaching them “ways of talking, ways of writing, ways of dressing, and ways of
interacting” that give them access to “the political power game.”
Building students’ self-belief while validating their identity and helping them to master rigorous content
is a complicated dance. And, there’s no better way to understand it than to see it in person.
This portion of pre-work will provide you with that opportunity. You will observe in classrooms, talk to
students, and solicit advice from their teachers. Really, your observations are going to be much more
than observations. We are asking you to visit a community’s school and embrace a classroom, a teacher
and its students. We want you to learn who they are, what makes them unique, what their strengths,
values and motivations are, and what skills they employ to achieve their ambitious visions. In short, we
want you to begin to build relationships so that you can start to know the people and place you are
visiting; just as you will when you enter the community where you will teach.
To get to know these teachers and their students you will visit two different classrooms. While there,
please:
(Note: If completing all of these components in your first visit takes up the bulk of the allotted time for
this experience, you can simply observe during the second visit.)
a. Observe Teaching and Take Notes:
During observations, consider having your Classroom Observation & Reflection Guide with you.
This optional guide can be used as your tool for capturing notes from your observations,
interviews and post observation reflections. You can print it out or download this document and
type directly into the guide.
b. Look at Student Work:
Review student work in one or both of the classrooms where you observe to provide insight into
what students are accomplishing academically in terms of both skills and content. Please
coordinate with the teacher ahead of time to see samples of student work before or after class
and see if you can later interview these same students. Another option is to see if the teacher
would mind if you walk around the room and look at work during a time that would not be

disruptive. As you look at this work, keep in mind the guiding questions under WHAT IS AT
STAKE. After you examine student work, use the reflection questions on the Classroom
Observation & Reflection Guide to record your thoughts.
c. Interview the Teacher
Teaching is one of the most inspiring and challenging professions in the world. It requires giving
to students every day all day with an unwavering consistency and dedication. Interview the
teachers you observe in order to hear their story and understand what drives them to love and
fight for their children every day. Contact the teacher ahead of time to request the interview
and figure out when it would work best for them to sit down to talk. Please see your Classroom
Observation & Reflection Guide for a list of possible questions for your teacher interview.
d. Talk with individual students:
We do this work because we believe in the true potential of each child. Hearing their voices -
their accomplishments and aspirations as well as the reality they face - is critical to
understanding how you will play a role in ending educational inequity in your classroom.
Approaching this opportunity with respect and humility will be essential; this is a chance to get
to know a student as a whole person and more deeply understand their motivations and goals
as well as their perspective on their own education.
As with the teacher interviews, we have provided some introductory language and possible
questions in your Classroom Observation & Reflection Guide that you can choose to use, but you
want to refrain from it feeling like a scripted interview. Again, reach out to the teacher ahead of
time to see if it would be possible to talk with some students and when it would be best to do
this during your visit. If possible, talk with the students whose worked you looked at, as this will
provide a richer picture of the individual strengths of these children, as well as any particular
challenges they face.
For some of you, this may be your first time in a classroom since you were a student. Some of you may
have spent more time in the classroom. No matter what, this observation experience will give great
insight into your role as a teacher leader.
The guiding questions below are designed to get you thinking about the incredible responsibility and
importance of your work as a teacher. You will continue to grapple with these questions during
induction and as you begin teaching at Institute this summer.
Guiding Questions:
 VISION & INVESTMENT: What is the vision this teacher has set for their students and how do
they invest students in that vision? What actions does that make you want to take as a teacher?
 HIGH EXPECTATIONS: How does this teacher set and maintain high expectations for each and
every student in their care? What do students in this classroom believe about their own
potential to be successful?

 WHAT IS AT STAKE: What does this experience make you think about what is possible for
students and what is at stake for students growing up in poverty? How does this motivate you as
you think about the students you will teach this summer and in your region?
 LEADERSHIP: How does this teacher act as a leader in the classroom? Based on your past
leadership experiences, what do you think will be the most challenging for you as you start
teaching? (To help you answer this question, you might also consider drawing on the reflection
you did in Part IV about your personal strengths.)
 REFLECTION: How did these observations confirm, challenge or change your mindset about what
it takes to make positive change in the life of a student?
Click here for all of the information you need on how to set up and complete your observations.

PART VII: STORY OF SELF (2 HOURS)
Introduction:
Throughout our pre-work, dozens of leaders have shared how they have handled “crossroads” moments
during their battles for equity.
When the captain of Therrell High School’s football team began dining on a full lunch in the middle of his
9 AM class, Maurice Thomas, the Metro Atlanta corps member you heard about and from earlier, finally
“lost it.” After he regained his composure, Thomas learned that one of his school’s star athletes and
biggest goof-offs was hiding a secret: his mother was bi-polar, and he felt like nobody believed in him.
When Geoffrey Canada, the Harlem Children’s Zone’s founder, became a father again in 1997, the
research he encountered about infants’ brain development led him to parent in a completely different
way than he had twenty-five years earlier, when his first children were born. As Canada used flashcards,
books, and mobiles to stimulate Geoffrey Jr., he wondered whether it was possible to share these
parenting techniques with Harlem’s poorest residents.
In 1998, MacArthur Fellow Majora Carter couldn’t have predicted that a stray puppy would provide the
impetus for developing the South Bronx’s first riverside park in nearly 60 years. But, as her adopted
canine pulled her toward the East River during a morning jog – past one of New York’s most notorious
waste processing facilities – Carter saw possibility in what, to others, appeared to be nothing more than
a weed-strewn, illegal, toxic dump.
Like Thomas, Canada, and Carter, we are each on the cusp of enormous possibilities. And, like them, we
come to Teach For America with a catalog of moments that have shaped who we are, what we believe,
and our ability to overcome obstacles. As Harvard University’s Marshall Ganz explains, we are all on our:
“…own journey of learning to be a full human being, a faithful person. And those
journeys are never easy. They have their challenges, their obstacles, their crises. We
learn to overcome them, and because of that we have lessons to teach. In a sense, all of
us walk around with a text from which to teach, the text of our own lives.
You have to claim authorship of your story and learn to tell it to others so they can
understand the values that move you to act, because it might move them to act as
well.”
We now have the opportunity to write these stories. And, at Induction and/or Institute, we will share
them.
While it can sometimes feel scary to talk about who we are in front of a group, our power, as a
movement, comes from our collective strength. We are far likelier to succeed in unhinging the latches of
inequity constraining our students’ opportunities if thousands of us—in unison—attempt to pry open
the birdcage’s doors. To be synchronized, we must trust each other. And, to trust each other, we must
know the stories of the latch-breakers standing by our side. To do this, you are going to write what Ganz
calls A Story of Self. A Story of Self is a 5-7 minute story about a personal challenge you faced that
illustrates your strengths, values and motivations. Throughout this pre-work, you have already reflected

on several aspects of your life–past leadership, educational, and family experiences–that may serve as
fodder for this story. You have also spent time thinking about who you are and how particular aspects of
your identity have impacted you. Your Story of Self might draw from any of these reflections.
The rest of this section will guide your reflection on your story and help you prepare to share it. Our
hope is that you will share your story many times over the next few months as you prepare to teach and
fight for all children to achieve their highest aspirations.
Click the following links for information on:
1. Details about how to write your Story of Self.

2. Optional: How to get started if you want some ideas.
3. Optional: Four sample stories if you find that helpful.
This guidance is based upon “Telling Your Public Story Self, Us, Now, “by Marshall Ganz © 2007, 2011

PART VIII: FOUR FINAL STEPS AND ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR ECE AND SPED
TEACHERS (3.5+ HOURS)
Introduction
Reading about teaching can be exciting. Watching classroom footage can give you chills. But, nothing
makes teaching come alive more than in-person classroom observations. Seeing teachers in action and
talking to students can inspire us. It also raises the question, “How am I going to do this?”
Simply being motivated to create change is not enough. Loving your kids is essential, but you also need
to know what you want them to learn and how you will get them to learn it. In order to do this, there
are a collection of practical skills that new teachers must begin to master. To begin this process, there
are up to four additional preparation steps in this final part of pre-work.
First, to build lesson planning and execution skills before Institute, we will all look at lesson plan models,
watch a teacher create a lesson’s vision, and try our own hands at this vision setting. Next, you will take
a survey to share your feedback about our pre-work. Then, if you are an Early Childhood Education or
Special Education teacher, there is some additional work to complete that is specific to your area.
Finally, if you know the grade or content area you’ll be teaching, there are a list of optional resources to
enhance your preparation.
As the corps experience nears, however, no amount of preparation can fully ready you for the
commitment to come. You will be tested. You will be disappointed. You will bounce back. You will learn.
You will be inspired. You will love. You will strive. And, together, we will commit ourselves, every day, to
creating a just, more equitable nation.
Thank you for joining our movement, and welcome to Teach For America.
Step I: Lesson Planning

On a daily basis, successful teachers plan purposefully and execute effectively in pursuit of the broader
vision-and-goals they set with their students. These strong daily lessons lead not only to short-term
academic success but – day over day and month over month – also lead to long-term access to key
pathways of opportunity. In this pre-work module, you will be asked to engage with 3 specific activities
to begin building your own skill at planning and executing meaningful lessons.
Important Notes
 All 2013 CMs should complete this pre-work module with the following exception: If your teaching
placement is Early Childhood Education AND you will be attending the Chicago institute, please do
NOT do this portion of the pre-work.
 Please make every effort to complete this specific pre-work module in the two weeks immediately
preceding the start of your institute. For most corps members, critical sessions during Week 1 of
institute will build directly on the activities you are about to complete. Therefore, this content will
ideally be top-of-mind as institute begins.

As you proceed, remember that this is just the beginning of your development as a strong lesson
planner. At the end of this module, which should take you between 2 ½ to 4 hours to complete, you may
not be ready yet to plan highly effective lessons. But you should be able to answer the following
important questions in a fairly detailed way:
 What are some of the most important elements of strong lesson plans?
 What is one effective way to begin writing a lesson plan?
 What strengths and challenges do I bring to the lesson planning process?
Then, when institute begins, you will have the opportunity to participate in facilitator-led learning
experiences designed to further develop your ability to plan strong daily lesson plans. Although nothing
you produce during this pre-work will be collected by a staff member, it would be helpful to have the
following accessible – in either hard- or soft-copy – during Week1 of institute:
 From Step One: the planning principles you generate
 From Step Three: the daily lesson vision you draft
Optional: Any written responses to reflection questions from all steps (you are not required to do this
reflection in writing)
High-Level Description Related Resources & Next Steps

Engage with Exemplar Models First:
 Spend 45-75 minutes reviewing and  Click here for detailed
reflecting on 2 strong lesson plans (all directions.
with linked video clips of classroom
execution), choosing from a list of 10 Then:
options.  Click here to access all exemplar
 This step is designed to help build your plans
vision for what both strong lesson
planning and strong execution look like in
action. After reviewing these resources,
you will be asked to generate a list of
“planning principles” gleaned from these
strong models.
Examine a Planning Process  Click here for detailed

 Spend 30-45 minutes watching and directions.
reflecting on a brief screencast production  Click here to access the
of a teacher planning a “daily lesson screencast. ( NOTE: Please sign
vision” (the first step of the planning in to TFANet first. Also, you may
process – more on this later). be required to update your Flash
 This step will let you see into the mind of Player in browser settings, so
an experienced teacher as she begins please take this step as-needed)
planning for a daily lesson.
Try It Yourself First:

 Spend 60-90 minutes putting what you  Click here for detailed
learned in Steps 1 & 2 into action by directions.

making an initial attempt at writing a daily
lesson vision for an objective of your Then:
choice, selecting from a menu of 15  Click here to access all lesson
options. planning templates
 This step is intended to be a direct
application of what you have just read and
reviewed. Your product will be a draft of
the first part of a lesson plan, which you’ll
use for further reflection.
Step II: Take this Survey

This survey will give you an opportunity to share feedback about our pre-work. It will also let us know
what’s on your mind as Institute approaches. If it’s possible, please complete it at least one week before
your regional Induction begins.
Step III: Additional Pre-Work for Early Child Education Teachers and Special
Education Teachers:
SPECIAL EDUCATION
“If the court rules to end to school segregation, there would be no stopping anyone else from
demanding similar rights, even people with mental retardation may want to go to school.” That was the
argument made by a South Carolina attorney against Brown vs. the Board of Education. The court
dismissed that argument and ruled against racial segregation, but rights for students with special needs
came later.
So far in this pre-work, most of our focus has been on the history and consequences of race and class-
based discrimination in our country. As special educators, you will be called to grapple with another type
of discrimination within your work, ability-based discrimination, which has a history replete with
segregation and prejudice not so dissimilar from much of the discrimination people of color or those in
poverty have faced. Some of you may be very familiar with the history and state of special education in
our country. For others, this may be a new window in to a different facet of American education.
To help us all engage productively with special education, we would like to provide a core set of readings
and videos that will serve as a foundation for all special education teachers as well as some
supplemental materials for those of you who would like to deepen your understanding. To do that, the
attached special education pre-work has been divided into four parts, which you can access here. The
parts are:
I. History of American Special Education and Reform

II. Contemporary Misconceptions
III. The Power and Potential of Students with Special Needs
IV. Impacts of Race and Poverty on Students with Disabilities

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Your cohort has required pre-institute work that will help prepare you for the unique challenges of
teaching early-childhood education. This work is necessary both for certification purposes and because
it lays a foundation for the work you will be doing at institute.
Please go to http://tfateams.org/pre-institute-ece to access your ECE-specific required prework (login:

tal, password: talrubric). Please note you will have to copy and paste this link into your browser
window.
Step IV: Optional Content-Specific Resources

If you already know what you’ll be teaching and you are able to prioritize additional preparation time,
you may wish to explore the resources below. These resources have been are recommended by content
experts to help you learn more about great teaching and learning from a content-specific lens.
While we always recommend checking out resources at a variety of grade levels (especially given that
our students are often not performing at grade level, and that many strategies work well across grade
levels), we’ve indicated the approximate grade level each resource applies to as follows:
ECE  Early Childhood Education (pre-kindergarten & kindergarten)

ELEM  Elementary (kindergarten – 5th grade)
SEC  Secondary (5th grade – high school)
SPECIAL-EDUCATION
These resources are recommended for all corps members, including those who are not specifically placed
in special education settings, as almost all teachers work with at least a couple of students receiving
special education services.
 How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop—Understanding Learning Disabilities by
Rick Lavoie [ELEM + SEC]
In this 70-minute video clip, you’ll see an internationally-known expert on learning disabilities
lead a series of exercises that illustrate the way that students with learning disabilities
experience the classroom. After getting a firsthand look at the anxiety, frustration, and tension
that these students often feel, you’ll see a discussion of effective teaching strategies for these
students.
 Misunderstood Minds [ELEM + SEC]

This website, a companion to a documentary with the same name, includes everything from the
scientific explanations behind learning differences to strategies to aid success in school.
Interactive activities, called Experience Firsthand, are designed to give site visitors a sense of
what it may be like for a student struggling with a basic skill.
For an extended list of special education-related resources, click here.

EARLY-CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
 Mind in the Making by Ellen Galinsky [ECE]

This engaging book synthesizes the results of decades of research on child development and
draws conclusions about how development can be fostered in 7 areas that are essential for well-
rounded, successful human living (focus and self control, perspective taking, communicating,
making connections, critical thinking, taking on challenges, self-directed & engaged learning).
Research has shown that early childhood is when we have the best opportunity to build these
types of skills for a long-lasting effect, and this book will help you see what is currently known
about how these skills develop and what teachers & parents must do to help.
For an extended list of early childhood education-related resources, click here.
ENGLISH-LANGUAGE ARTS
 Put Reading First, excerpted in the Teach For America Elementary Literacy Text (p 257) [ELEM]
This publication shares what researchers have discovered about successfully teaching lower
elementary students to read. In each of its five sections (focused on skills such as phonics and
fluency), the report defines the skill, reviews the relevant research, and suggests classroom
implications and strategies related to that skill.
 When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers [SEC]
This text is filled with specific strategies that teachers can implement immediately in their
classrooms to support struggling readers.
 Writing Workshop: An Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher [ELEM + SEC]

Students learn to write by writing, and a Writing Workshop structure allows students to
maximize the time they spend writing and getting feedback during class. This book explains the
principles of writing workshop, which can be applied in any context to build students as writers.
 Common Core Standards, Appendix A [ELEM + SEC]

This Appendix shares the research behind the recommendations in the Common Core Standards
as to the best ways to develop students as readers, writers, thinkers and communicators.
 Core Components of Lower and Upper Elementary Literacy [ELEM]

This document summarizes our approach to literacy instruction and provides a literacy-specific
TAL Impact Model for both lower and upper elementary classrooms.

FINE ARTS
 thesmARTteacher.com [ELEM + SEC]

This website is a fantastic place to connect with other art teachers and find resources. The best
feature of the site is the social media aspect, enabling teachers to communicate and share ideas
with one another, which is especially helpful for teachers of electives given that there are often
fewer curricular resources available.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
 For K-8 Language Teachers: Language and Children, making the match by Helena Curtain and
Carol Ann Dahlberg [ELEM + SEC]
This book provides strategies and activities for K-8 foreign language teachers. While not
inexpensive, it is one of the most comprehensive texts out there on K-8 foreign language
instruction. You may be able to find it at your university library if you do not wish to purchase it
yourself.
 Keys to the Classroom: Helping new language teachers find their way by Paula Patrick [ELEM +
SEC]
Targeted at new classroom teachers, this book provides detailed advice, strategies, and
examples of everything from classroom organization to lesson planning.
MATH
 Improving learning in mathematics: challenges and strategies M. Swan [ELEM + SEC]

One of the best all-in-one math resources out there, this book includes an introduction to the
philosophy and principles of teaching mathematics effectively, and then suggests classroom
strategies that align with these principles. (NOTE: This site will require a quick registration to
sign-on)
 Elementary and Middle School Mathematics by John Van de Walle, et al. [ELEM + SEC]
While this book is quite expensive, it is a great resource that unpacks mathematics concepts and
provides concrete recommendations for how to teach challenging concepts.
 Math class needs a makeover, a TED talk by Dan Meyers [ELEM + SEC]
This relatively short (under 12 minutes) video that highlights some of the key challenges in
investing students in math class and proposes a solution. Dan Meyer is a very well-respected
math teacher who has, in the past few years, become nationally renowned.
For an extended list of math-related resources, click here.

SCIENCE
 Toward a More Comprehensive Conception of College Readiness [SEC]

While it’s not science-specific as a whole article, this resource is useful for any teacher
developing an understanding of key knowledge, skills and mindsets their students will need for
success in college. Several of the “key cognitive strategies” and “overarching academic skills”
outlined are uniquely positioned to be developed in science classrooms.
 Weaving Science Inquiry and Continuous Assessment by Maura O'Brien Carlson, Gregg E.
Humphrey, and Karen S. Reinhardt [ELEM + SEC]
In this book, the writers provide a program that helps teachers to identify different areas of
student learning and to help modify certain teaching strategies to improve student success.
SOCIAL STUDIES
 Doing History: Investigating With Children in Elementary and Middle Schools by Linda Levstik
and Keith Barton [ELEM + SEC]
Through case studies of teachers and students in diverse classrooms and from diverse
backgrounds, this book shows children engaging in authentic historical investigations, often in
the context of an integrated social studies curriculum.
 Historical Thinking and other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past by Sam
Wineburg [SEC]
This book will engage you in a compelling discussion about how we approach the discipline of
teaching the past and will help you prepare your students to be strong historical thinkers and
writers in your classroom and beyond.
 Promoting Reading Comprehension in Social Studies by D. Massey & T. Heafner [SEC]

Being a social studies teacher is as much about teaching skills as it is about teaching content.
One of the most critical skills students need is the ability to make meaning of social studies texts
in order to engage in rigorous analysis and discussion. Massey and Heafner make their case for
why social studies teachers must also be reading teachers and introduce six teacher techniques
that can be used to help students develop as stronger readers in the social studies context.
Optional Resources: Teach For America Curriculum Texts
If reading more about teaching’s technical components seems like it would be helpful to you, you may
want to peruse these texts, which made up the bulk of our former pre-work.
Learning Theory: provides overviews of learning theory, thinking and learning, cognitive development,
learning differences and special education, teaching for understanding, teaching higher order thinking,
and prerequisites to learning.
Instructional Planning & Delivery: discusses instructional planning, including long term plans, unit plans,
and lesson planning, as well as instructional delivery. Chapters include Start with Standards, Student

Assessments, Long-Term Planning, Unit Planning, Lesson Planning, Differentiation, and Recording
Results Effectively.
Classroom Management & Culture: discusses best practices for classroom management and building a
strong classroom culture.
Elementary Literacy: includes chapters about the fundamental importance of literacy, literacy as a big
goal, standards and diagnostics, the building blocks of literacy, reading fluency, methods of
comprehension instruction, methods of writing instruction, and a balanced literacy block.
Secondary Literacy: (grades 6-12) discusses the fundamental importance of literacy, identifying the
source of reading difficulties for older students, foundations of word recognition, vocabulary and
fluency, helping all students become independent readers, building comprehension, writing to learn -
learning to write, and general principles.

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2013 PRE-INSTITUTE WORK

TEACH FOR AMERICA

Our pre-work has eight parts:

© 2012 Teach For America 2

We’re working on this.

Welcome to this messy, deeply personal, and important journey of learning.

© 2012 Teach For America 3

© 2012 Teach For America 4

© 2012 Teach For America 5

Part II: Cage Fighters (1.5 hours)

Part III: The Latch-Breakers (1.5 hours)

Part IV: Teaching As Leadership (7.5 hours)

Part V: Reflecting On Personal Identity (8.5 hours)

Part VI: Classroom Observations (10 hours)

Part VII: Story of Self (2 hours)

© 2012 Teach For America 6

© 2012 Teach For America 7

Core Readings (5 hours)

SETTING THE STAGE: RACISM IN AMERICA (30 MINUTES)

DISPARITIES IN EDUCATION (60 MINUTES)

DISPARITIES IN HEALTH CARE (35 MINUTES)

© 2012 Teach For America 8

DISPARITIES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE (60 MINUTES)

POVERTY IN AMERICA (120 MINUTES)

© 2012 Teach For America 9

© 2012 Teach For America 10

© 2012 Teach For America 11

© 2012 Teach For America 12

© 2012 Teach For America 13

© 2012 Teach For America 14

Academics have developed complicated theories and obscure jargon in an effort to

Guiding Questions for Part II

© 2012 Teach For America 15

© 2012 Teach For America 16

IMMIGRATION ISSUES & WORKERS’ RIGHTS

© 2012 Teach For America 17

RURAL ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

© 2012 Teach For America 18

© 2012 Teach For America 19

Schools and Organizations

“Transformational Teaching as the Foundation for Transformational Change.” A Chance to Make

© 2012 Teach For America 20

© 2012 Teach For America 21

© 2012 Teach For America 22

1. HOW IS TEACHING AS LEADERSHIP SIMILAR TO AND DIFFERENT FROM THE PICTURE OF

A Chance To Make History: Chapter 1: Teaching As Leadership (beginning on p. 13 of the PDF)

Realizing the Potential of TAL

Mindsets of Teacher Leaders (NOTE: Please log-in to TFANet first)

Optional: Teaching As Leadership: Miss Lora’s Story

2. WHAT EVIDENCE DO WE SEE WHEN STUDENTS EMERGE FROM A CLASSROOM ON A PATH

© 2012 Teach For America 23

 Julia King: Grade 4, Gary, Indiana (9 minutes)

3. WHICH ASPECTS OF TEACHING AS LEADERSHIP MATCH YOUR STRENGTHS, VALUES, WAYS

From a 2010 corps member’s blog:

© 2012 Teach For America 24

Julia, Maurice and Meg Reflect on Their Leadership

Leadership Role Comparison

Identify Your Leadership Strengths

You may also want to consider:

 What questions do you have about our Teaching As Leadership approach?

© 2012 Teach For America 25

© 2012 Teach For America 26

© 2012 Teach For America 27