We are part of the Dallas – Fort Worth corps (DFW). The Dallas corps was started three years ago and has had an amazing impact on the region. The Fort Worth area is a new addition this year (referred to as a charter corps). About 70% of the DFW corps is teaching in Dallas and 30% are in Fort Worth. After we were all moved in on the 31st we jumped right into sessions about what the week would look like and ended the day with a large dinner where we officially met the team and heard about their stories. Everyone in TFA has at least one story that is incredibly motiving and makes me cry.
Wednesday was one of my favorite days at induction. We had the opportunity to go to a middle school in Dallas and hear from students, teachers, and the principle on the impact that TFA teachers have had there. This school has made incredible gains in test scores over the past three years partially because of a new principle that came in and has completely turned this school around. He says that a large part of that was being willing to have TFA teachers in his classrooms who have high expectations of their students and are strong leaders in his school. The mothers that talked that day brought us all to tears with their stories and one student, Ceaser, became the reason we all knew we would make it back to Dallas. He was able to beautifully articulate why TFA teachers had been so important in his life and how he was now internally motivated to do well and to go to college because of his current teachers who both believed in him and pushed him.
Thursday we met with our school districts. I have been placed with the Uplift Education system which has 17 campuses in the Dallas area. They are a school whose mission is to send 100% of their students to college and to have their students be prepared to work alongside students from more affluent neighborhoods. Charter schools in Texas are publically funded the Uplift schools use a lottery system for acceptance. Going to college is discussed with children in Uplift from the time they are in Kindergarten and the students and families are shown how this dream is a reality. The students will see and average of 17-20 college campuses before they graduate from high school and they are paired with extremely dedicated counselors who help them to choose the school that is best for them. After graduation students are paired with an Inspire Advisor who gets to know the student during the senior year and then supports the student throughout college. They are available to help with the transition and to answer questions and they go to visit the students, no matter where in the country they are, several times a year to check in on them. Many of these students are first generation college students so their Inspire Advisor is able to answer many of the questions for them and their families. I will be teaching at Pinnacle Preparatory which is opening this August with only kindergarten and 1st grade. They do this so that the students that graduate from Pinnacle will have been in the school and the Uplift system for 5 to 6 years once they move into and Uplift middle school. I met my new principal as well as the two other girls who will be on the staff from TFA and it seems like a fantastic group! On Friday I took my TExES teaching licensure exam and did a little apartment hunting just to get an idea of what was in the area and how much they cost. I did not make a decision on a place to live but a few days later I did receive an e-mail saying I had passed my test!
Saturday we had sessions on morning and did some team building in the afternoon. Then our schedule said that we needed to wear “snappy casual” and be ready by 6:15 for our “mystery” regional dinner. They had told us that snappy casual meant sundresses and either flats or wedges but no heels. They also told us that we would need to bring out ID’s with us but that we should not bring bags or purses. We all got ready and made out way to the building we were meeting at excited to see what they had planned. We waited outside for a little while and then they came out to make an announcement. They said that there was some urgent paperwork that needed to be completed before we could go to dinner. We all filed into the building and sat down in a lecture hall. On the desks were little blue envelopes that we could not touch. Once everyone was there and seated we were able to open our envelopes and found an invitation to George W. Bush’s home for a dinner with him and Laura Bush!
We loaded up the charter bus and headed over to their Dallas home. We had a lovely dinner on the putting green in their front yard and I was able to talk to each of them either in a small group of individually. It was quite the end to the week! Sunday we packed up and headed out to Houston ready and energized for the next 5 weeks of training to begin!
