Urban K- 6 Teachers Needed to Become Change Agents – Deadline Looming
Washington, DC – The Delta Research and Educational Foundation, in collaboration with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., is looking for certified professionals currently teaching students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through 6th grade in urban school districts to become educational change agents. The nationwide search is a key component of the Delta Teacher Efficacy Campaign (DTEC), a three-year, ground-breaking effort to enhance teachers’ confidence in their ability to inspire and lead predominantly at-risk, urban students to academic success.
“Education is a heart matter. Teachers have to connect with the students before they can teach,” said Dr. Johni Cruse Craig, DTEC Project Director. The 180 volunteer teachers selected to participate will attend The Teacher Efficacy Academy (TEA), a nine-module course offering the opportunity to reflect, purposely on their own self-efficacy. Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m., Sunday, March 8, 2015.
“DTEC has two important goals. One is to unveil a teacher’s own ability and confidence to reach all children no matter their life circumstance. Our companion goal is to motivate students to learn and to achieve by building their own self-confidence,” Cruse Craig stated.
When successfully completed, DTEC leaders expect the teachers to have a better understanding of the correlation between teacher efficacy and student achievement. Teachers successfully completing the course will receive a certificate stating that they have completed 50 hours of professional development credit, learn instructional strategies on literacy and math, along with receiving a First Book grant to help expand their classroom libraries.
TEA is a part of the three-pronged nationwide strategy designed to unite educators and community stakeholders working to improve student academic outcomes and graduation rates. DTEC, underwritten by a matching grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also includes a community advocacy component that targets 40 cities. Beginning in the fall 2015, DTEC’s community-based partners will host Town Hall Advocacy Sessions to increase the number of people engaged in active dialogue surrounding teacher efficacy.
DTEC’s third prong is the publication of scholarly research intended to increase the body of qualitative and quantitative literature devoted to teacher efficacy. The collective work will be published in the 2016 edition of The Foundation’s scholarly journal, PHILLIS: The Journal for Research on African American Women.
To apply, visit www.deltafoundation.net. Or, contact Dr. Johni Cruise Craig, DTEC Project Director at jccraig at deltafoundation.net or call 202-347-1337.
