Interested in learning more about the strategic planning process?

Click the image below to learn more about Schermco’s unique approach to strategic planning and how it helped TECA secure a six-figure grant to expand our work across the state of Tennessee. This podcast episode is ideal for executive leaders, funders, and other stakeholders interested in organizational growth and supporting educators of color.

SchermCo is a national social-impact implementation firm that offers strategic advising, organizational development, and implementation services to schools and education-focused organizations that support underserved communities. We reinvest 1% of our time/funds back into the communities we serve.

Our ED Diarese George served on a panel this week held by The Hunt Institute in partnership with Teach Plus.

​As America’s public education system continues to become more diverse, debate persists around the consideration of race in curriculum and instruction. However, students and educators both demonstrate higher performance and overall well-being when race and culture are intentionally integrated into their classroom experience. In this webinar, The Hunt Institute is collaborating with Teach Plus to discuss the findings of their report Making Culturally Affirming Schools A Priority: Lessons from Teachers of Color in a Time of Crisis. Resource experts will discuss efforts to create culturally affirming spaces in schools.

The Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance has selected 12 Knox County Schools educators to participate in the inaugural cohort of its Tennessee Educators of Color Fellowship for the 2021-2022 academic year in Knox County. This is an exclusive partnership with the Knox Education Foundation that will develop, connect and elevate educators from racially ethic and diverse backgrounds in the areas of policy, advocacy, and leadership skills to improve outcomes for students in Knox County, especially those that are most vulnerable. We're excited to work with these educators this year!​

The Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance (TECA), in partnership with The Education Trust in Tennessee, has established the statewide Educator Diversity Advocacy Council. The council, which is comprised of current and aspiring educators as well as leaders in education administration, public policy, and advocacy, will be focused on a statewide effort to improve teacher diversity in public schools across the state

The primary goal of the Educator Diversity Advocacy Council is to serve as architects of the 20×25 Campaign. The campaign will seek to increase the percentage of educators of color in Tennessee by 20 percent by the year of 2025. The council will create a policy and advocacy agenda to advance the recruitment and retention for educators of color statewide

​“We are ecstatic to collaborate with these leaders as we work towards a more equitable and inclusive educator workforce reflective of the students we serve in Tennessee,” said TECA Executive Director Diarese George, Ed.D. “We are even more excited about the opportunity to elevate the voices of educators of color in this specific work. We are encouraged to know that this forthcoming policy agenda will be set by people who have a passion for this work and we know that it will be informed by their lived experiences and their professional expertise.”

​Members of the Council are:

Dr. Diarese George, Executive Director, Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance (Co-chair)

Gini Pupo-Walker, State Director, The Education Trust in Tennessee (Co-chair)

Jonathan Brown, First Grade Teacher, Hamilton County Schools

Nicholas Clifton, Child Development Major, Maryville College

David Cowan, Assistant Principal, Rutherford County Schools

Michalyn Easter-Thomas, Instructional Facilitator, Shelby County Schools

Aleah Guthrie, Director of Policy & Government Relations, TN SCORE

Neven Holland, Fourth Grade Teacher, Shelby County Schools

Lindsey Mattingly, Manager of Resident Development, Nashville Teacher Residency

Carlin McGlown, Assistant Principal, Tipton County Schools

Brittany Paschall, ELA Resident Teacher, Nashville-Teacher Residency

Beatriz Salgado, Assistant Principal, Metro-Nashville Public Schools

Evetty Satterfield, School Board Member, Knox County Schools

Shanacia Thomasson, 6th Grade Math Teacher, Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools

Dr. Linda Treadwell, School Counselor, Knox County Schools

Amber Tyus, Director of Talent & Acquisition, Metro-Nashville Public Schools

Dr. Rick Vanosdall, Professor and Interim Dean, Middle Tennessee State University

Angellica Wright, First Grade Teacher, Metro-Nashville Public Schools

Dr. Troy Yarbrough, Special Education Teacher, KIPP Nashville

The mission of Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance is to amplify the voice, presence, and support for educators of color while remaining student-centered and solutions-oriented. The central belief of TECA is that all students benefit from teachers and administrators of color, especially since many of these educators were once students of color themselves. Because of these shared experiences, educators of color are able to speak to the systemic inequities that students of color face. Many of Tennessee’s policymakers do not look like or represent the majority of students in our schools and TECA believes in elevating teacher leaders of color to be policy advocates for their students.

​NASHVILLE (May 5, 2020)– The Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance (TECA) has selected 12 educators across Tennessee to participate in its inaugural fellowship, designed to provide proven educators with opportunity to develop their leadership potential.

​TECA is a statewide nonprofit committed to amplifying the voices and expanding the options for leadership for educators of color in Tennessee. Recently, TECA launched the Tennessee Educators of Color Fellowship, a leadership opportunity that will develop, connect and elevate Middle Tennessee teachers  of color in the areas of policy, advocacy and leadership skills in order to improve outcomes for students in Tennessee.  The fellowship is one way the organization fulfills and supports its mission.

​“Each of these dynamic educators has already proven they’re dedicated to the field of education and to bolstering the outcomes for all students,” said Diarese George, Ed.D, who serves as the Executive Director for TECA, and is also its founder. “The purpose of our fellowship is to take those dedicated educators and help put them in a position to lead and also encourage their retention in the profession. One of our primary goals is to ensure more educators of color have a shared, elevated voice and a stronger presence. We’re absolutely confident that each of these fellows will become visionary leaders who help guide our children and our state to levels not achieved previously.”

​The fellows are as follows:

Jacqueline Bing, Metro-Nashville Public Schools, special education teacher providing inclusive and small group instruction to lower elementary students

Priscilla Conerly, Franklin Special School District, an eighth grade English and Language Arts teacher.

Tequila Cornelious, an Instructional Literacy Coach, Franklin Special School District.

Lyzette Garza, Metro-Nashville Public Schools, a social justice educator who works with students, families, and school leaders to raise awareness around issues of equity and inclusion

Dania Henry, Metro-Nashville Public Schools, an instructional lead, second-grade teacher, and Diversity Coordinator.

Halima Labi, Metro-Nashville Public Schools, a freshman English Language Arts teacher.

Victoria McAlman, Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, a third grade English Language Arts teacher and multi-classroom leader.

Daven Oglesby, Metro-Nashville Public Schools, an elementary exceptional education teacher.

Darlene Perry, Metro-Nashville Public Schools, a certified English as a Second Language instructor as well as a fourth-grade math and English Language Arts educator.

Sarah Robinson, Nashville-Davidson County (Independent School), social studies teacher.

Leticia Skae-Jackson, Maury County Public Schools, an English Language Arts teacher.

Taylor Kirk, Nashville-Davidson County (Independent School) an English Language Arts teacher.

“We are so proud of each of these educators already, and we can’t wait to see how they leverage this fellowship opportunity to improve equity and outcomes in their schools and their communities,” George said.

René Dillard will be coordinating programming for the fellowship, drawing from her background in teaching, education policy, and research, to cater a unique experience for fellows. Ms. Dillard also works full time as Manager, Early Literacy for United Way of Greater Nashville, where she facilitates collective impact work for the Blueprint for Early Childhood Success initiative. The Blueprint aims to double third grade literacy by 2025. 

In addition to launching the fellowship, TECA is also gearing up to host the following virtual opportunities in May:

S.O.S – State of the State Conversation

4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 13

Zoom

The conversation will feature education leaders of color from the three divisions of the state. It will focus on moving forward from COVID-19, addressing the challenges that our most vulnerable students and communities face, and reimagining what education should look like for Tennessee in the future. Learn more and sign up at tneca.org.

​Districts Are Still Hiring: Resume Development & Interview Preparation Workshop

10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Friday, May 15

Zoom

​This workshop will be geared toward recent college graduates and existing educators looking to gain employment at a new school. The virtual event will focus on resume development, interview preparation, and etiquette for virtual interviews. Learn more and sign up at tneca.org.

​Wine Down Virtual Happy Hour: Addressing Mental Health and Self-Care 

5:30 p.m.  to 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 21

Zoom​

This event will focus on addressing mental health challenges among educators, the importance of self-care, and strategies to practice good mental health and self-care. Learn more and sign up at tneca.org.

​The Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance (TECA) board of directors has hired Diarese George, Ed.D as the first full-time executive director. Founded by George in 2016, TECA was created to provide a platform to amplify the voice and presence of educators of color.

​“It has always been a goal and a dream of mine to build TECA to a point where I could lead the organization full-time; all of our accomplishments and growth has been driven by a working board of directors,” George said.

​Last fall, TECA was announced as one of NewSchools Venture Funds Teacher Diversity grantees, providing funding to advance our work in retaining teachers of color in Tennessee while providing leadership opportunities.

​Previously, George has served as director of recruitment for the Nashville Teacher Residency and taught for five years as a high school Career Technical Education teacher, with a focus on business.

Additionally, he has completed education leadership fellowships for Education Pioneers, the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), Hope Street Group, and the Mosaic Fellowship, which connects and empowers education leaders of color across the state of Tennessee. Dr. George holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Corporation Communications from Austin Peay State University. He also received an MBA and Doctorate in Education Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University. He is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated.

​The mission of Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance is to amplify the voice, presence, and support for educators of color while remaining student-centered and solutions-oriented. The central belief of TECA is that all students benefit from teachers and administrators of color, especially since many of these educators were once students of color themselves. Because of these shared experiences, educators of color are able to speak to the systemic inequities that students of color face. Many of Tennessee’s policymakers do not look like or represent the majority of students in our schools and TECA believes in elevating teacher leaders of color to be policy advocates for their students.

Approximately 35 percent of the students in Tennessee are students of color while only roughly 15 percent of teachers are teachers of color. While we want to raise awareness of why this is critical for students, we also want to launch an advocacy campaign to establish a statewide goal for increasing (recruiting and retaining) teacher diversity by 20 percent by the year 2025 to create parity between students of color and teachers of color. In an effort to support this campaign, one of many initiatives, the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance will host a statewide Male Educators of Color Summit in Memphis at the National Civil Rights Museum on Saturday, April 11, 2020.

​​Approximately 35 percent of the students in Tennessee are students of color while only roughly 15 percent of teachers are teachers of color. While we want to raise awareness of why this is critical for students, we also want to launch an advocacy campaign to establish a statewide goal for increasing (recruiting and retaining) teacher diversity by 20 percent by the year 2025 to create parity between students of color and teachers of color. In an effort to support this campaign, one of many initiatives, the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance will host a statewide Male Educators of Color Summit in Memphis at the National Civil Rights Museum on Saturday, April 11, 2020.